 | |
| Date | December 1861 – January 1862 |
|---|---|
| Location | Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Baja California, Sonora, Mexico |
| Deaths | >4,000[1] |
| Property damage | $100 million (1861 USD)[2] $3.117 billion (2021 USD) |
The Great Flood of 1862 was the largest flood in the recorded history of California, Oregon, and Nevada, inundating the western United States and portions of British Columbia and Mexico. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains and snows that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862. This was followed by a record amount of rain from January 9–12, and contributed to a flood that extended from the Columbia River southward in western Oregon, and through California to San Diego, as well as extending as far inland as the Washington Territory (now Idaho), the Utah Territory (now Nevada and Utah), and the western New Mexico Territory (now Arizona).
The event dumped an equivalent of 10 feet (3.0 m) of water in California, in the form of rain and snow, over a period of 43 days.[3][4] Immense snowfalls in the mountains of far western North America caused more flooding in Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, as well as in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico the following spring and summer, as the snow melted.
The event was capped by an intense, warm storm that melted the heavy snow load that had accumulated during the earlier storms. The resulting snow-melt flooded valleys, inundated or swept away towns, mills, dams, flumes, houses, fences, and domestic animals, and ruined fields. It has been described as the worst disaster ever to strike California.[5] The storms caused an estimated $100 million (1861 USD) in damage, roughly equal to $3 billion in 2021. The governor, state legislature, and state employees were not paid for a year and a half.[2] At least 4,000 people were estimated to have been killed in the floods in California, which was roughly 1% of the state population at the time.[1]
- ^ a b Jon Schlosberg (December 7, 2020). "California's 'trillion dollar' mega disaster no one is talking about". ABC 7 Chicago. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- ^ a b William H. Brewer, Up and down California in 1860-1864, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1930, p. 243
- ^ Dettinger, Michael D.; Ingram, B. Lynn (1 January 2013). "Megastorms Could Drown Massive Portions of California". Scientific American. 169: 64–71.
- ^ Null, J.; Hulbert, J. (2007). "California Washed Away: The Great Flood of 1862". Weatherwise. 60 (1): 26–30. doi:10.3200/wewi.60.1.26-30. S2CID 191490229.
- ^ Becker, Rachel (May 26, 2018). "The hardest part of preparing for disasters is overcoming human nature". The Verge. Retrieved May 29, 2018.