Today in History: Flash floods cause millions of dollars worth of damage
The floods devastated the city of San Antonio, and resulted in an overhaul of the city's levee system.
The flooding of the San Antonio River in Texas began on this day in 1921, and would go to cause millions of dollars worth of damage.
The flood was caused by some of the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Texas.
The San Antonio River winds through southwest Texas, an area that is generally dry. However, on 7 September 1921, a storm stalled over the town of Taylor and dumped an astounding 587mm of rain on the area in less than a day. It was the heaviest single day’s rainfall in the state up to that point.
The immense amount of rain quickly overwhelmed the river. Taylor is located 48km upstream from the city of San Antonio, so the resulting flash flood went barrelling down-river towards the city.
Most of the victims were trapped in their cars by the surprise flood, and drowned. One-and-a-half to three meters of water submerged the city’s streets, delaying an evacuation.
The city was under water for nearly a week following the flood. The flood was responsible for at least $5 million in damages in the then-small city. In the aftermath, San Antonio embarked on a 10-year overhaul of its levee system.
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