100 & 500 Year Flooding Information
Village of Bellevue, Wisconsin - How Major Flooding Events Impact Our Community
What are 100 and 500 year floods?
Flooding along the East River Trail in Bellevue
100 and 500 year floods are floods of a great magnitude that are expected to happen once every 100/500 years. While statistically these types of major floods are expected to occur over such periods of time, it does not mean they only occur once every 100/500 years. Rather, it means that there is a 1%/0.5% chance every year that one could occur.
The 1993 Midwest Floods
Near the bank of the Mississippi River in Grafton, Illinois during the 1993 Midwest Floods
The 1993 Midwest Floods are considered to be one of the largest natural disasters to ever occur in the United States. They affected most of the Midwestern states causing approximately $15 billion in property damages. Estimates place the number of people that were displaced from their homes at 54,000 with over 10,000 homes being completely destroyed.
Cape Girardeau, Missouri was heavily affected by the 1993 floods, and was subsequently hit by two more 100 year floods in 1995 and 2002. The city was affected by three 100 year floods within a span of 9 years. This occurrence provides a realistic example of how multiple major flooding events can happen within a short period of time, however small the chance of them happening is.
FEMA Flood Response
For information regarding flood preparation and response, visit the Department of Homeland Security's website: https://www.ready.gov/floods
