TOPEKA (KSNT) – Decades go by, but many in Topeka may recall the destructive impact of the 1951 flood that caused widespread damage across Kansas and Missouri.
This year marks 75 years since northeast Kansas was hit by one of its greatest natural disasters in recent memory: the historic and devastating 1951 flood. This event changed the landscape of much of Kansas and caused mass evacuations in Topeka.
Around 24,000 people evacuated in the Capital City area alone, with another 85,000 being forced to flee across the region. The flooding led to the deaths of 19 people and many more injuries, according to a publication from the U.S. Geological Survey.
“There were several towns that were inundated,” said Katie Keckeisen with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. “They had to be abandoned; people had to move elsewhere. There were farmers that lost their land.”
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Topeka had around 7,000 buildings either damaged or destroyed by the flooding. North Topeka was one of the hardest areas hit with many businesses lost, including the city’s minor league baseball team.
“The Topeka Owls had a stadium up north and that was completely flooded, and the owners said it wasn’t worth rebuilding,” Keckeisen said.
Residents impacted by the floods came up with creative ways to get around the damage caused by the floods. Keckeisen offered one historical example of how two people came up with an interesting way to get help.
“The young couple gathered up all the dry corn they could, and they went a half block away to a dry area on the highway that was still visible,” Keckeisen said. “They wrote out with dried corn ‘need medicine,’ and a helicopter came and saw the message and came to help.”
The flood left a lasting impact on northeast Kansas, influencing building codes, levees and the creation of several reservoirs. The 1951 flood caused an estimated $9 billion in damage in modern currency.
“People have a deep respect for the river,” Keckeisen said. “The idea is that you have to watch the river and knowing what can be built so close, and what can’t be.”
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