Flood of June 9, 1957, at Perry, Florida

Floods occurred on streams in the vicinity of Perry, Taylor County, Florida, on June 9, 1957, as a result of heavy rains from atropical disturbance. Serious flooding occurred in Perry along Spring and Pimple creeks as outlined by the shaded area in figure 1, requiring the evacuation of about ZOO families from the lowland area. No loss of life was reported. The damages to residential and commercial properties were estimated at several million dollars. Most of the damage was confined to residential areas (fig. 2); however, several stores in the area were damaged by flood waters (fig. 3). This report presents data pertaining to the rainfall accompanying this storm and peak flows of Spring and Pimple creeks in Perry. It contains flood elevations at several points, and peak discharges of the two creeks flowing through Perry. The report also contains a discussion of the rainfall associated with the flood and a description of the general features of the flood. (PDF contains 16 pages.)

Yemaya, No. 25, July 2007

Battling against Wind and Tide - Latin America/ Uruguay. Women’s Changing Participation - Oceania/ Pacific Islands. From Challenge to Opportunity - Latin America/ Chile. AKTEA Meets Again - European Union. Why Are We in CONAPE? - Latin America/ Brazil. Women in Fisheries, Policy - Asia/ Philippines. A Disaster in the Making - Asia/ India. Texas Gold - Film.

Southern California's megaflood event of ca. 1605 AD linked to large-scale atmospheric forcing

A distinct, 1- to 2-cm-thick flood deposit found in Santa Barbara Basin with a varve-date of 1605 AD ± 5 years testifies to an intensity of precipitation that remains unmatched for later periods when historical or instrumental records can be compared against the varve record. The 1605 AD ± 5 event correlates well with Enzel's (1992) finding of a Silver Lake playa perennial lake at the terminus of the Mojave River (carbon-14-dated 1560 AD ± 90 years), in relative proximity to the rainfall catchment area draining into Santa Barbara Basin. According to Enzel, such a persistent flooding of the Silver Lake playa occurred only once during the last 3,500 years and required a sequence of floods, each comparable in magnitude to the largest floods in the modern record. To gain confidence in dating of the 1605 AD ± 5 event, we compare Southern California's sedimentary evidence against historical reports and multi-proxy time-series that indicate unusual climatic events or are sensitive to changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. The emerging pattern supports previous suggestions that the first decade of the 17th century was marked by a rapid cooling of the Northern Hemisphere, with some indications for global coverage. A burst of volcanism and the occurrence of El Nino seem to have contributed to the severity of the events. The synopsis of the 1605 AD ± 5 years flood deposit in Santa Barbara Basin, the substantial freshwater body at Silver Lake playa, and much additional paleoclimatic, global evidence testifies for an equatorward shift of global wind patterns as the world experienced an interval of rapid, intense, and widespread cooling.