The 1951 Floods in Kansas Revisited

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 041–01

May 2001

—Kyle E. Juracek, Charles A. Perry, and James E. Putnam

Introduction


 July 2001 marks the 50th 

anniversary of the largest floods to 

occur in Kansas during the 20th 

century. The 1951 floods, exceeded 

only in recorded history by the 

legendary flood of 1844, primarily 

affected the Kansas, Marais des 

Cygnes, Neosho, and Verdigris River 

Basins in eastern Kansas and the 

Osage and Missouri River Basins in 

Missouri. According to the American 

Red Cross, 19 people were killed, 

directly or indirectly, and about 

1,100 people were injured by the 1951 

floods in Kansas and Missouri (U.S. 

Geological Survey, 1952). The most 

damaging flooding in 1951, and the 

event that received the most media 

attention, occurred along the Kansas 

River where the cities of Manhattan, 

Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City 

sustained extensive damage (fig. 1). 


 Total damage from the floods was 

unprecedented. From the headwaters 

of the Kansas River to the mouth of 

the Missouri River at St. Louis, about 

2 million acres were flooded, 

45,000 homes were damaged or 

destroyed, and 17 major bridges, some 

of them weighted with locomotives in 

an attempt to hold them, were washed 

away. By October of 1951, estimates 

of the total damage ranged as high as 

$2.5 billion (Davis, 1953) (about 

$17 billion in 2000 dollars).


 Within the affected areas, 

transportation was disrupted as 

highways and railroads were closed 

from days to weeks. Damage to 

municipal water supplies and sewagetreatment works was also extensive. In 

Kansas, 33 water-supply systems were 

shut down, requiring that water be 

brought to the affected communities 

by tank trucks. At Topeka, the water 

works were kept in operation thanks 

to the efforts of as many as 5,000 men 

at a time that maintained a floodwall 

during the flood (U.S. Geological 

Survey, 1952). One of the more 

unusual damage reports came from 

Le Roy, Kansas, where the Neosho 

River had washed caskets from graves 

at the Le Roy Cemetery (Christy, 

1987). 

 The flood caused significant 

changes to the affected river and 

stream channels and the adjacent flood 

plains. Along the Kansas River, the 

flooding resulted in substantial bank 

erosion and channel widening. On the 

adjoining flood plain, which was 

submerged to depths of 15 to 20 feet 

in the vicinity of Lawrence and 

Topeka, the land surface was scoured 

to depths of as much as 15 feet in 

some places and covered by deposits 

of sand and silt to thicknesses of as 

much as 4 feet in other places 

(McCrae, 1954) (fig. 2). Similar 

changes were noted in the other 

affected basins. 


Cause of the Floods


 The July 1951 floods in Kansas were 

caused by a storm of unusual size and 

intensity for the Great Plains. 

"Measured in terms of human suffering, tremendous losses in property, and extensive disruption of business activities 

throughout the flooded area, it was the greatest catastrophe within the history of the region. Measured in terms of river 

stages and discharges, and of extent of the areas inundated, it was the greatest flood in the Kansas River Basin of which 

there is reliable record." (Veatch, 1952)

Figure 1. Women and children evacuated from ruined North Topeka were carried ashore at the 

north end of Topeka Avenue bridge by rescue workers (photograph courtesy of Topeka Capital 

Journal).
Above-normal precipitation during 

May and June 1951 caused some 

major flooding and established 

conditions favorable for maximum 

runoff from subsequent precipitation. 

These conditions included high 

streamflows, high ground-water 

levels, and a minimum capacity for 

the soil to absorb any additional 

rainfall (U.S. Geological Survey, 

1952). 


 Then came the great storm of 

July 9–13, 1951, that was centered 

near the common divide of the Kansas 

and Neosho River Basins (fig. 3). 

Precipitation began during the 

afternoon of July 9 and continued 

through the morning of July 10. 

Following a brief respite, the 

precipitation began again the evening 

of July 10 and continued through 

July 12. Each day was characterized 

by excessive rainfall during the late 

afternoon and night with little or no 

rainfall during the early and midafternoon hours. By midnight July 13, 

almost unprecedented total amounts of 

rain had fallen since the beginning of

the storm. Four areas of particularly 

excessive rainfall, centered about 

27 miles southwest of Manhattan, 

36 miles south-southwest of 

Manhattan, 15 miles southwest of 

Emporia, and 30 miles west-southwest 

of Topeka, had total storm amounts of 

more than 16 inches (fig. 3) (U.S. 

Geological Survey, 1952). 

 
In 1951, the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS) operated a network of 

96 streamflow-gaging stations in 

Kansas (fig. 3). Of those 96 stations,

36 recorded the highest flows since 

the time records began through the 

year 2000 (fig. 3). Most of the recordhigh flows recorded during the 1951 

floods occurred in July, although for a 

few stations the high flow was 

recorded in May or June. 


 The magnitude of the 1951 flood 

can be put into perspective by 

comparing the highest flows recorded 

in that year with the highest flows 

recorded for the entire period of 

station operation. For example, 

information on the highest annual 

streamflow has been collected for the 

Kansas River near Lecompton since 

1891. As shown in figure 4, the 1951 

flood at Lecompton (with an estimated 

high flow of 483,000 cubic feet per 

second) was substantially larger than 

the high flows recorded for the 1903 

and 1993 floods. Table 1 lists selected 

currently (2001) operated USGS 

streamflow-gaging stations with 

record flows recorded during 1951. 

None of the stations shown in table 1 

have had flows that exceeded those 

recorded in 1951. 


Comparison to Other Kansas Floods


 Even though the floods of 1951 were of 

epic proportion, there was at least one 

other flood in eastern Kansas that was 

larger. On the Kansas River, the 

largest flood in recorded history 

occurred in 1844; however, little 

damage resulted from this flood as it

Can the 1951 Flood Happen Again? 

 The answer is yes. The occurrence of the 1951 flood helped initiate the 

construction of numerous flood-control reservoirs and levees that have helped 

to reduce the inundation by subsequent floods in Kansas. Thus, although a 

flow of a magnitude comparable to the 1951 flood is certainly possible, the 

associated flooding would likely be less due to storage of floodwaters in the 

reservoirs. Damage caused by flooding will vary by location depending on the 

amount of development in the flood plain. Given the right combination of 

circumstances and conditions, a flow of equal or greater magnitude is 

possible. For example, a major flood could result if excessive rainfall occurred 

at a time when the basin was already saturated and the reservoirs were 

already full, and (or) if much of the rainfall fell downstream from the reservoirs. 

Major floods occur occasionally, and the risk of an extraordinary flood like 

those of 1844 and 1951 will always be with us. 

2

Figure 2. Tractors covered by sand, mud, and debris in the wake of the flood near Lawrence, 

Kansas, July 1951 (photograph courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources 

Conservation Service, Lawrence, Kansas).

of the region (Flora, 1952). Other 

significant floods on the Kansas River 

occurred in 1903 and 1993. These 

floods, like the 1951 flood, occurred 

after the flood plains had been 

extensively developed and thus caused 

substantial damage. 


 The flood of 1844 is considered the 

"maximum" flood on the Kansas 

River. The 1785 flood on the 

Mississippi River at St. Louis, 

Missouri, was approximately 1 foot 

higher than the 1844 flood (Reed and 

others, 1993), but accounts are 

sketchy. Undocumented accounts hint 

that the 1785 flood also occurred on 

the Missouri and Kansas Rivers, but 

no reliable records exist on its 

magnitude. Reliable data are available 

for the floods of 1844, 1903, 1951, 

and 1993, and they can be compared 

according to relative depth of water 

and the amount of flow (fig. 5, 

table 2). 


 Relative flood depths for 1844, 

1903, 1951 and 1993 can be traced 

along the Kansas River from where it 

is formed by the confluence of the 

Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers 

near Ogden, Kansas, downstream to 

the Missouri River at Kansas City, and 

onto the Mississippi River at St. 

Louis, Missouri. Figure 5 shows the 

relative depth of water for the 

different floods at Ogden, Topeka, and 

Lecompton in Kansas, and Kansas 

City and St. Louis in Missouri. 
 

 From Ogden to Lecompton, 

Kansas, the 1844 flood along the 

Kansas River was approximately

5 feet deeper than the 1951 flood. Once 

the 1951 flood reached Kansas City, 

water depths were only about 2 feet 

less than in 1844. Along the Kansas 

River, the 1951 flood depths were 

greater than in 1903 and 1993. Along 

the Missouri River, the 1993 flood 

depths were greater than in 1844, 

1903, and 1951. Upstream from 

Kansas City, flood depths in 1993 

were affected by the flood-control 

reservoir system which substantially 

reduced the high flows. However, at 

locations where levees were built to 

3
protect urban areas, the 1993 flood 

depth increased substantially within 

areas bounded by the levees. Flood 

depths at Kansas City and St. Louis in 

1993 were increased by the levees that 

protected much of the flood plain (fig. 

5). 

 
T able 2 lists the highest flows for 

each of the floods. Estimates for the 

flood of 1844 are available only for 

gaging stations on the Missouri and 

Mississippi Rivers. Along the Kansas 

River, the highest flows were recorded 

during the 1951 flood, followed 

respectively by the 1903 and 1993 

floods (table 2). There are no flow 

estimates for the 1844 flood along the 

Kansas River. However, documented 

flood depths would have produced 

flows greater than the 1951 flood. If 

the flood-control reservoirs in the 

Kansas River Basin had not been in 

place during 1993, the resulting flood 

flows would have been greater but 

still not as great as the floods of 1903 

or 1951 (Perry, 1994). During the 

height of the flood on July 13, 1951, 

almost 90 percent of the flow in the 

Missouri River at Kansas City came 

from the Kansas River, a tributary that 

represents only about 12 percent of 

the Missouri River's drainage basin.


 The hydrologic conditions prior to 

each of these floods were similar. A

lengthy rainy period prior to the 

maximum flooding created saturated 

conditions. Then, a major storm 

system with excessive precipitation 

over a large area occurred that 

simultaneously drove many tributary 

streams and rivers over their banks. 

Each of the major floods had storm 

precipitation totals that were similar, 

only their duration and location were 

different. It has been suggested that 

"...a small difference in the 

distribution of the heavy rains on 

July 10–12, 1951, and their 

continuation for one day longer, 

would in all probability have produced 

a flood equal to that of 1844" (Flora, 

1952). Had the storm in 1993 

occurred over a shorter period of time, 

flooding probably would have been 

more extensive. 


 The rains will come again. When, 

where, and how much will determine 

whether the next flood will rival the 

big ones. 


How Are Floods Measured?

 When flooding occurs, the USGS 

mobilizes personnel to collect 

streamflow data in affected areas. The 

USGS was out in force during and 

after the great floods of 1951, 

collecting streamflow data and 

documenting high flows that occurred. 

 Currently (2001), the USGS operates 

more than 150 streamflow-

 The USGS measures streamflow in terms of cubic feet per second. One 

cubic foot per second is equal to about 448 gallons per minute, 27,000 gallons 

per hour, or 646,000 gallons per day—close to the amount needed to fill an 

Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1 day.

4

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

500,000

1903

Streamflow, in cubic feet per second, (ft3/s)

190419081915193519411943194419451950

1951

1967197319931995

Long-term annual 

mean flow (7,511 ft3/s)

Figure 4. Highest annual flows exceeding 100,000 cubic feet per second for Kansas River at 

Lecompton (station 891000, fig 3), 1891–2000. The 1903, 1951, and 1993 floods are shown in red.

Table 1. Comparison of 1951 highest flows with more recent highest flows for selected current 

(2001) U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations

Smoky Hill River near Russell2 (06864000)

Saline River at Testcott (06869500)

Solomon River at Niles (06876900)

Smoky Hill River at Enterprise (06877600)

Kansas River at Wamego (0887500)

Kansas River at Topeka (06889000)

Kansas River at Lecompton (06891000)

Kansas River at Bonner Springs3 (06892500)

Marais des Cygnes River near Ottawa (06913500)

Verdigris River near Altoona (07166500)

Neosho River at Council Grove (07179500)

Neosho River at Iola (07183000)

Neosho River near Parsons (07183500) 

May 23

July 13

July 14

July 14

July 13

July 13

July 13

July 13

July 11

July 12

July 11

July 13

July 14

July 22, 1993

May 25, 1961

October 11, 1973

July 22, 1993

July 26, 1993

July 25, 1993

July 27, 1993

July 27, 1993

November 2, 1998

October 3, 1986

May 22, 1961

October 3, 1986

October 5, 1986

39,500

61,400

178,000

233,000

400,000

469,000

483,000

510,000

142,000

71,000

121,000

436,000

410,000

32,400

12,900

52,400

47,600

199,000

170,000

190,000

170,000

41,600

48,900

40,000

64,100

92,700

Station name (station number1, fig 3)

 Highest flows during 1951 More recent highest flows

Date

Streamflow

(ft3/s)

Streamflow

(ft3 Date /s)

[ft3/s, cubic feet per second]

1First two digits of the station number have been omitted in figure 3.

2Since September 1974, station has been 4.7 miles downstream near Bunker Hill, station number 06864050.

3Since September 1973, station has been 9.7 miles upstream at DeSoto, station number 06892350.
gaging stations on streams and lakes 

in Kansas. Although the station 

equipment has been modernized since 

1951, the type of data collected at the 

gaging stations is the same now as 

then. Streamflow information 

collected by the USGS during floods 

is used for reservoir operations, flood 

warning and forecasting, design of 

bridges and flood-control structures, 

and flood-plain regulation and 

insurance purposes. 

 The process of streamflow 

measurement at USGS gaging stations 

has not changed significantly since 

1951. Where possible, direct 

measurements of flow during the 1951 

floods were made from bridges and 

boats (fig. 6). However, at most 

gaging stations in eastern Kansas, the 

1951 floods reached such great depths 

and high velocities that USGS 

personnel were unable to reach the 

gaging stations located on some 

bridges and, therefore, were unable to 

make direct flow measurements. In 

some locations, the gaging station was 

left isolated from the river and, thus, 

could not be used to record river 

stage. For example, in the flood 

analysis for the Kansas River at 

Ogden, Kansas, R.W. Carter of the 

USGS wrote that "...the river cut a 

new channel to the right of the bridge 

during the flood leaving the gage in 

the old channel." W.P. Somers of the 

USGS wrote in the flood analysis for 

the South Fork Solomon River at 

Alton, Kansas, that "...the gage was 

lost during the flood of July 12, before 

the bridge was destroyed." In such 

cases, "indirect methods" were used to 

estimate high flows after floodwaters 

Streamflow Measurement


 The USGS normally determines 

streamflow by direct measurement. 

The USGS measures stage (the 

height of the water surface, also 

known as gage height) and 

streamflow at all gaging stations on 

a routine schedule. Typically, 

measurements of water depth and 

velocity are made at approximately 

30 locations across the stream. The 

distance between measurement 

locations (width), the speed of the 

water (velocity), and water depth are 

multiplied to compute streamflow 

(discharge) in cubic feet per second. 

Many streamflow measurements 

made over the range in stage of the 

stream are plotted against the 

corresponding stages to define the 

stage-discharge relation that is used 

in conjunction with the continuously 

recorded stage to determine 

streamflow throughout the year. 


 However, in 1951 the USGS had to 

rely on indirect measurements to 

determine high flows after the 

floodwater receded. Indirect 

measurement involves the use of 

field-surveyed high-water marks, 

information on channel characteristics, and a hydraulic flow model to 

estimate flows.


5

Kansas River at Ogden (06879500)

Kansas River at Wamego (06887500)

Kansas River at Topeka (06889000)

Kansas River at Lecompton (06891000)

Kansas River at Desoto (06892350)

Marais des Cygnes River near Ottawa (06913500)

Marais des Cygnes River near Kansas-

 Missouri State line (06916600)

Neosho River at Strawn (07182400)

Neosho River near Parsons (07183500)

Missouri River at Kansas City (06893000)3

Mississippi River at St. Louis (07010000)3

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

--

--

--

e625,000

e1,300,000

236,000

280,000

300,000

320,000

337,000

13,400

--

43,000

--

548,000

1,019,000

298,000

400,000

469,000

483,000

510,000

142,000

148,000

 

400,000

410,000

573,000

782,000

85,000

171,000

166,000

190,000

170,000

17,000

40,200

 

16,000

58,200

530.000

1,030,000

Station name (station number1, fig 3)

 Highest flows, in cubic feet per second

1844 1903 1951 1993

Kansas River Basin

Marais des Cygnes River Basin

Neosho River Basin

Missouri River Basin

Mississippi River Basin

Table 2. Comparison of highest flows for floods of 1844, 1903, 1951, and 1993 at selected U.S. 

Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations

(e, estimated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; --, not determined or not applicable)

1First two digits of station number have been omitted in figure 3.

2Flow was greater than that of 1951 flood.

3Missouri and Mississippi River stations not located in figure 3.

 Kansas River

at Ogden

(station 06879500)

 Kansas River

at Topeka

(station 06889000)

 Kansas River

at Lecompton

(station 06891000)

 Missouri River

at Kansas City

(station 06893000)

 Mississippi River

at St. Louis

(07010000)

 Relative flood depth, in feet

EXPLANATION

-10

1785 flood

1844 flood

1903 flood

1951 flood

1993 observed flood

* *

*

*

* *

x x

x

0 x x x

10

15

5

-10

-15

-5

0

10

15

5

-10

-15

-5

0

10

15

5

-10

-15

-5

0

10

15

5

-10

-15

-5

0

10

15

5

-10

-15

-5

Figure 5. Comparison of relative flood depths from Ogden, Kansas, to St. Louis, Missouri, for 

floods of 1785, 1844, 1903, 1951, and 1993. Locations of Kansas stations shown in figure 3. 

[Relative depths are compared with 1993 flood (zero depth). No distance or elevation relations 

between the individual stations are implied by the graph.]
For more information on the 

1951 flood, visit the

USGS Web site at

http://ks.water.usgs.gov/

to view a collection of 1951 

flood photographs and flood 

hydrographs for selected USGS 

streamflow-gaging stations

or contact:

District Chief

U.S. Geological Survey

4821 Quail Crest Place

Lawrence, Kansas 66049–3839

(785) 842–9909

email: waucott@usgs.gov

detailed description of streamflow 

conditions during the 1951 flood is 

provided in a USGS report titled 

"Kansas-Missouri floods of July 

1951" (U.S. Geological Survey, 1952). 

 The USGS is prepared to document 

future floods. The streamflow-gaging 

network in Kansas has grown from 96 

stations in 1951 to more than 150 

stations in 2001. Streamflow data 

from the expanded network improve 

National Weather Service flood 

forecasting, provide additional data 

for USGS flood-frequency analysis 

which is used by the Kansas 

Department of Transportation for 

bridge design, and provide 

information for use by State 

Emergency Management Agencies 

and Mitigation Teams before, during, 

and after flooding. 

 Most gaging stations in Kansas are 

now equipped with telemetry 

equipment that relays stream gageheight data from the gaging stations to 

USGS offices via satellite. Waterresource managers and the public also 

have access to this data to make 

decisions necessary during large 

floods. Real-time data for Kansas 

streams are available on the USGS 

web site at 

http://ks.water.usgs.gov/. 


References


Christy, Wanda, 1987, Coffey County—

volume 1, A glimpse into its past, 

present, and future!: Burlington, 

Kansas, Coffey County Today, 

92 p. 


Davis, K.S., 1953, River on the rampage: 

Garden City, New York, Doubleday 

and Co., 217 p. 


Flora, S.D., 1952, The great flood of 1844 

along the Kansas and Marais des 

Cygnes Rivers: The Kansas Historical 

Quarterly, v. XX, no. 2, May 1952, 

p. 73–81. 


McCrae, R.O., 1954, Geomorphic effects 

of the 1951 Kansas River flood: 

Lawrence, Kansas, University of 

Kansas, master's thesis, 68 p. 

Perry, C.A., 1994, Effects of reservoirs on 

flood discharges in the Kansas and 

Missouri River Basins, 1993: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1120–E, 

20 p.


Reed, H.L., Perkins, T.J., and Gray, G.L., 

Jr., 1993, Water resources data, 

Missouri, water year 1992: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Data Report 

MO–92–1, p. 142.


U.S. Geological Survey, 1952, KansasMissouri floods of July 1951: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 1139, 239 p. 


Veatch, N.T., 1952, The Kansas flood of 

1951: Journal of the American Water 

Works Association, v. 44, no. 9, 

September 1952, p. 765–774.


6

Aerial view of flooding at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers in Kansas City 

looking northeast on July 13, 1951 (photograph courtesy of Warner Studio, Kansas City, Missouri).

Missouri River

Kansas River

Airport

Figure 6. Overflow measurement by motorboat, Solomon River near Bennington, 

Kansas, July 14, 1951. It was necessary to secure the boat to the utility pole 

when the motor was turned off.