The summer of 1993 brought a great flood to the nation's heartland. Persistent storms loaded with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico stalled over the upper Mississippi Valley in June and July.
The continual heavy rains sent swollen rivers out of their banks from South Dakota southward to the tip of Missouri.
Flooding contributed to 48 deaths and caused at least $12 billion in damage. Approximately 16 million acres were inundated, and more than 40,000 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.
The swollen Missouri River cut Missouri in half. At one point only one bridge over the river was open in a 200-mile stretch between Kansas City and St. Louis.
Iowa was another hard-hit state. Davenport's downtown, which is not protected by levees, flooded. Des Moines residents had to do without drinkable tap water for nearly three weeks when floods deluged their water treatment plant.
Months later, people were still trying to recover from their devastating losses.
