The 1903 and 1993 Floods in Kansas—The Effects of

Changing Times and Technology

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 019–03

March 2003

-—Lanna J. Combs and Charles A. Perry

One hundred years ago this Memorial

Day, the Kansas River overflowed its

banks, flooding North Topeka with up to

12 feet of water in some places. Twentyfour people were drowned. Ninety years

and almost 2 months later on July 25,

1993, floodwaters again threatened the

city, but time and technology had changed

the effects of too much water. Floodwaters

in 1993 were contained within protective

levees and by regulated outflow from

several Federal reservoirs located

upstream. No lives were lost in Kansas,

and property damage was much less than

it otherwise would have been.

1903 Flood

The historic flood of

1903 affected the Missouri,

Kansas, and lower

Republican River Basins as

far west as Ellsworth,

Kansas (fig. 1). Flooding

along the Kansas River in

May 1903 was the largest

since the Kansas "Big

Water" of 1844 (Juracek

and others, 2001). In terms

of lives lost and property

damage, however, the 1903

flood was vastly more

destructive than the 1844

flood as a result of westward expansion,

population growth, and land development

along the river (Murphy, 1904).

The Storm

Rainfall was above normal during the

first half of May 1903 in northeast and

north-central Kansas. As a result, soils in

the Kansas and lower-Republican River

Basins were already saturated when the

excessive rains began in late May. In

much of northeast and north-central

Kansas, it rained daily between May 16

and 31. Salina had more than 17 inches of

rain during the month, and most of

northeast and north-central Kansas had

more than 10 inches of rain (fig. 1). The

lack of surface storage in the river basins

and already saturated soils made the flood

of 1903 of exceptional magnitude

(Murphy, 1904).

The Result

On May 27, 1903, the Topeka Capital

reported

On May 28, the same paper reported

streams in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and

Oklahoma out of their banks. On May 29,

the Topeka Capital reported

On Sunday, May 31, 1903, the flood on

the Kansas River reached its maximum

height. The maximum daily gage height of

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Lecompton gage (station 06891000) for

this date was 27.9 feet (streamflow of

320,000 cubic feet per second, table 1),

"Memorial Day, 1903, will be long

remembered in Topeka. On that day the

homes of 8,000 people, nearly all

residents of North Topeka, were desolate

and the muddy waters of the Kansas

River flowed in their dooryards and stood

in their parlors"—L.L. Kiene, in

Strickrott (1903)

"...the worst flood situation that has ever

confronted Kansas for many years; bridges

and tracks under water; many families

driven from their homes; thousands of

acres of corn ruined..."

"...200 homeless in Salina, Kans. ..."

North Topeka during height of 1903 flood (photograph courtesy

of the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka).

Figure 1. Lines of equal total precipitation for May 1903 and location of U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow-gaging stations in operation during flooding (lines of equal precipitation from

Murphy, 1904).

8

10 10

10

10

10

15

6

4 4

6

8

2

6

Wichita

Kansas

City

Salina

Ellsworth

Concordia

Kansas Saline

Solomon

Smoky Hill

Republican

River

River

River

des

River

River

River

River

Missouri River

Topeka

892500 893000 891000

889000

887500

887000

877600

876900

866500 864500

856600

856000

07

06

07 06

NEBRASKA

OKLAHOMA

COLORAD

O

M SI SOURI

EXPLANATION

Line of equal total precipitation for May 1903—- Interval 2 and 5 inches

Drainage basin boundary

Drainage basin

Missouri River Basin

Lower Mississippi River Basin

06

07

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station—

Stations from figure 3 and table 1 are shown in red.

Numbers on map are shown without basin prefix (06, 07)

0 25 50 75 100 MILES

0 25 50 75 100 KILOMETERS

102° 40°

39°

38°

37°

101° 100° 99° 98° 97° 96°

95°

River

Big Blue

Black Vermillion River

M

Cygnes arais

Neosho
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, 1993, p. i).

The Storm

 
The magnitude and timing of several 

rainstorms in mid-June and July 1993, 

combined with wet antecedent conditions, 

were the principal causes of the severe 

flooding in the upper Mississippi River 

Basin in 1993 (Parrett and others, 1993). 

In Kansas, January–July monthly 

precipitation totals ranged from 64 percent 

(April) to 535 percent (July) of normal 

(1961–90) for the National Weather 

Service station at Manhattan (Wahl and 

others, 1993). From July 22 to 24, 2 to 

13 inches of rain fell in parts of Kansas 

and Nebraska contributing large flows to 

already filled reservoirs in the Kansas 

River Basin. Lines of equal total 

precipitation in Kansas for July 1993 are 

shown in figure 2.

The Result

 
Moderate to major flooding occurred 

in a large part of the Kansas River Basin 

during July 1993. The Kansas, Big Blue, 

Black Vermillion, Smoky Hill, Solomon, 

Saline, and Republican Rivers, along with 

forced to shut down 

(Murphy, 1904). In 

Lawrence, the north span 

of the Massachusetts 

Street Bridge over the 

Kansas River was swept 

off its piers by a house 

that was being carried 

along by the raging 

torrent. Had it not been 

for the forethought of 

authorities in uncoupling 

this bridge span from the 

others, the entire bridge 

might have been lost. 

Bowersock Mill was swept away, and 

during the day on May 30, 50 houses were 

counted as they were swept over the mill 

dam (Lawrence Daily Journal, June 1, 

1903).

1993 Flood

 
The historic flood of 1993 affected 

more than just Kansas and spanned nearly 

2 months from mid-June to early August. 

The area of significant flooding extended 

into much of the upper Mississippi River 

Basin and included parts of southern 

Minnesota, southwestern Wisconsin, 

Iowa, western Illinois, northern Missouri, 

southern North Dakota, and eastern parts 

of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas 

(Parrett and others, 1993). Fifty deaths 

occurred, and damages approached 

$15 billion in the nine-State area 

which was 6.4 feet higher than the highest 

reading during the previous 22 years of 

record. 

 
The Missouri River gage at Kansas 

City (station 06893000) recorded its 

highest reading during the 1903 flood, 

nearly 35 feet, on June 2, which was only 

2 feet below the highest mark of the great 

flood of June 20, 1844 (Murphy, 1904). 

The Kansas City Times on June 1 

described the condition of Kansas City as 

follows: 

 For a period of 11 days (May 28 

through June 7), the Kansas River was 

higher than it had been in the previous 22 

years of record. Hundreds of homes were 

swept away by floodwaters and property 

damage was great—totaling $22 million 

in Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri 

(Murphy, 1904). Twenty-four people lost 

their lives in North Topeka alone 

(Strickrott, 1903). Of the 16 bridges 

spanning the Kansas River from the 

Armourdale District in Kansas City, 

Kansas, to its joining with the Missouri 

River (a distance of 4 miles), all except 

one were in part or wholly destroyed. One 

of the bridges carried a 36-inch water pipe 

that supplied Kansas City, Missouri, and a 

part of Kansas City, Kansas. As a result of 

the pipe loss, the whole city was without 

water for 12 days, and electric and gas 

companies, and street railways were 


"Kansas City passed yesterday the most 

disastrous day in its history; and to-day an 

emergency confronts its people greater 

than they have ever known before... . All 

Saturday night and all yesterday the 

torrents swept down the Missouri and 

Kansas until the valleys of the Kansas and 

Missouri were a solid mass of raging water 

from bluff to bluff. On the Union Depot 

platform there were 6 feet in depth of 

water, and all over the west bottoms... 

there was an equal or greater depth. 

Several lives it is known have been lost, 

and many more it is feared have perished."

"The severity, wide spread nature and 

length of time of this flood event made it 

the greatest flood ever to hit the United 

States..."— (National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 1993, p. 1–1). 

Lawrence residents awaiting rescue on tiny piece of "high 

ground," May 1903 (photograph courtesy of the Kansas State 

Historical Society, Topeka).

(A) Controlled flow over the emergency spillway at Tuttle Creek Lake, north of Manhattan, July 

1993 (photograph courtsey of Paul Maginness, Photographic Services, Kansas State University, 

Manhattan, Kansas) and (B) reservoir releases cut 20-foot-deep canyon in solid rock downstream 

from Tuttle Creek Lake, July 1993 (photograph by Charles A. Perry, USGS)

(A)

(B)

Approximate location 

of photograph (B)
their tributaries, produced flooding of

agricultural fields, numerous secondary

roads, and many county, State, and

Federal highways (National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, 1993,

p. 2–76). Eighteen of the 163 USGS

streamflow-gaging stations in operation

during 1993 measured record maximum

daily peak flows, and 68 stations

measured mean annual streamflows for

the 1993 water year (October 1, 1992,

through September 30, 1993) that

exceeded the greatest mean annual

streamflow for their periods of record,

which ranged from 6 to 78 years in length

(Geiger and others, 1994).

In the Kansas City metropolitan area,

the Missouri and Kansas Rivers reached

their highest flows almost simultaneously

on July 27, 1993. Excessive rainfall

upstream, saturated soil conditions, and

high river stages combined to create a

flood of historic magnitude on the

Missouri River. Without the reservoirs in

the Missouri and Kansas River Basins, the

maximum daily peak flow at the USGS

gaging station on the Missouri River at

Kansas City, Missouri (station 06893000),

could have been as high as 713,000 cubic

feet per second, overtopping the Federal

levee system (Perry, 1994). With the

reservoirs, streamflow was contained

within the levees. Observed flows on

July 27 were less than 2 feet from the top

of the Federal levees (Perry and others,

1997), and despite upstream regulation of

flows, the Missouri River at Kansas City,

Missouri, gaging station was above flood

stage (32 feet) from July 6 through

August 6 (National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, 1993). No

lives were lost in Kansas as a result of the

flooding.

Comparison of Major Kansas River

Floods

The results of the historic flood of

1993 were different from those of the

1903 flood in many respects. Time,

technology, and population growth all

contributed to these differences. Figure 3

compares maximum daily peak flows for

1903, 1951, and 1993 at 12 USGS

streamflow-gaging stations. Along the

Kansas River, the highest flows were

recorded during the 1951 flood, followed

respectively by the 1903 and 1993 floods

(fig. 4). 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).

For comparison, flood-peak flows can

be referenced to a specific recurrence

interval or likelihood of occurrence. The

recurrence interval is the average number

of years between occurrences of the

annual peak flow that equal or exceed a

specified streamflow. For example, a

streamflow that has a 100-year recurrence

interval is so large that an equal or greater

annual peak flow is expected, on average,

only once in any 100-year period.

Streamflows during the 1903 flood in the

Republican and Kansas River Basins had

greater than 50-year recurrence intervals,

with flows greater than any flood since

1844 (Clement, 1991). Streamflows

during the 1951 flood in the Solomon,

Kansas, Marais des Cygnes, and Neosho

River Basins had recurrence intervals that

Tuttle Creek and Milford reservoirs can't

contain all the water..."This lake [Tuttle

Creek] is usually 16 miles long. Right now,

we're 50 miles long. We usually cover

13,350 acres of ground. Right now we

cover 54,000 acres. We're shooting

150,000 gallons of water each second

through our release valves, and we're still

getting in more water than we're getting

rid of." —Paul Weidhaas, Tuttle Creek Lake

park ranger, The Kansas City Star, July 21,

1993

06856000

06856600

06864500

06866500

06876900

06877600

06887000

06887500

06889000

06891000

06892350

06893000

Republican River at Concordia

Republican River at Clay Center

Smoky Hill River at Ellsworth

Smoky Hill River at Mentor

Solomon River at Niles

Smoky Hill River at Enterprise

Big Blue River near Manhattan

Kansas River at Wamego

Kansas River at Topeka

Kansas River at Lecompton

Kansas River at DeSoto4

Missouri River at Kansas City, Missouri

U.S. Geological

Survey streamflow- gaging station number (figs. 1 and 3)

Long-term annual mean streamflow (ft

3

/s) (period of

S record) tation name 1903 1951

Maximum daily peak streamflow (ft

3

/s)

1993

Table 1. Comparison of maximum daily peak streamflows for floods of 1903, 1951, and 1993 at selected

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations

[Source of data: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System peak-flow file for Kansas, available on the World Wide Web at URL:

http://ks.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis. ft

3/s, cubic feet per second]

1 Streamflow is affected by regulation or diversion. 2 Streamflow is an estimate. 3 Streamflow is an historic peak. 4 Prior to October 1973 published as

"at Bonner Springs" (station 06892500 in figure 1).

2,3

41,000 2,3

84,000

18,000 3

32,000

30,000 3

90,000 3

93,800

280,000

300,000

320,000 3

337,000

548,000

(May 29)

(May 29)

(May 29)

(May 29)

(June 3)

(May)

(May 31)

(May 30)

(May 30)

(May 31)

(June 1)

(June 2)

33,600

51,000 1

30,000 1

20,000

178,000 1

233,000 3

93,400 1

400,000 1

469,000 1

483,000 1

510,000 1

573,000

(July 13)

(July 12)

(May 23)

(July 13)

(July 14)

(July 14)

(July 12)

(July 13)

(July 13)

(July 13)

(July 13)

(July 14)

1

37,700 1

46,000 1

30,300 1

13,100 1

17,900 1

47,600 1

58,800 1

199,000 1

170,000 1

190,000 1

170,000 1

541,000

(July 22)

(July 24)

(July 23)

(June 24)

(July 22)

(July 22)

(July 23)

(July 26)

(July 25)

(July 27)

(July 27)

(July 27)

(1946–2001)

(1918–2001)

(1896–2001)

(1925–2001)

(1898–2001)

(1935–2001)

(1963–2001)

(1920–2001)

(1918–2001)

(1937–2001)

(1918–2001)

(1958–2000)

657

978

241

399

576

1,627

2,499

5,248

5,903

7,437

7,528

57,030

Figure 2. Lines of equal total precipitation for July 1993 and location of U.S. Geological Survey

streamflow-gaging stations in operation during flooding (lines of equal precipitation from

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1993).

8

8

8

8

8

8

4

4

4

12

12

12

12

12 12

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

20

20

20 20

12

12

12

12

4

4

4

Manhattan

102° 40°

39°

38°

37°

101° 100° 99° 98° 97° 96°

95°

892350 889000 891000

893000

887500

887000

877600

876900

864500 866500

856600

856000

07

07

06

06

Wichita

Kansas City

Salina Ellsworth

Topeka

0 25 50 75 100 MILES

0 25 50 75 100 KILOMETERS

NEBRASKA

OKLAHOMA

COLORAD

O

M SI SOURI

EXPLANATION

Line of equal total precipitation for July 1993—- Interval

4 inches

Drainage basin boundary

Drainage basin

Missouri River Basin Lower Mississippi River Basin

06

07

8 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station—

Stations from figure 3 and table 1 are shown in red.

Numbers on map are shown without basin prefix (06, 07)

Missouri River
ranged from 25 to greater than 100 years 

(Clement, 1991). Streamflows during the 

1993 flood in the Kansas River Basin had 

10- to 100-year recurrence intervals 

(Parrett and others, 1993).

Real-Time Streamflow Information 

During Flooding

 
Currently (2003), the USGS maintains 

more than 7,000 streamflow-gaging 

stations nationwide in cooperation with 

various local, State, and Federal agencies. 

Real-time streamflow data from the USGS 

are used by the National Weather Service's 

River Forecast Centers to determine flood 

stages for various streams and to help 

forecast when and where streams will 

crest during floods. The U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers uses real-time streamflow 

data to schedule reservoir releases that are 

designed to lessen the amount of potential 

damage from overflowing streams and to 

prevent water from backing up into 

smaller tributaries when the main stem is 

already bankfull. USGS streamflow data 

are also used to design bridges, highways, 

and culverts that will convey sufficient 

streamflow so that transportation 

infrastructures remain above water during 

flooding. The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency uses USGS 

streamflow data to develop floodinsurance rate maps and to address 

emergency-response needs before, during, 

and after flooding. 

 
The USGS streamflow-gaging-station 

network in Kansas has grown from 

38 stations in 1903 to 163 stations in 1993 

to 177 stations in 2003. Information from 

these stations is available on the World 

Wide Web at:

http://ks.water.

usgs.gov/nwis/

current/?type=flow

References in bold are available on the World Wide 

Web at:

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

Clement, R.W., 1991, Kansas floods and droughts, in

Paulson, R.W., Chase, E.B., Roberts, R.S., and 

Moody, D.W., compilers, National water 

summary 1988–89—hydrologic events and 

floods and droughts: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 2375, p. 287–294.

Geiger, C.O., Lacock, D.L., Schneider, D.R., Carlson, 

M.D., and Dague, B.J., 1994, Water resources 

data, Kansas, water year 1993: U.S. Geological 

Survey Water-Data Report KS–93–1, 497 p.

Juracek, K.E., Perry, C.A., and Putnam, J.E., 

2001, The 1951 floods in Kansas revisited: U.S. 

Geological Survey Fact Sheet 041–01, 6 p.

Murphy, E.C., 1904, Kansas floods and hydrologic 

data, in Destructive floods in the United States in 

1903: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 96, p. 21–81.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

1993, The great Midwest flood of '93: Kansas 

City, Missouri, Natural Disaster Survey Report, 

various pagination.

Parrett, Charles, Melcher, N.B., and James, 

R.W., Jr., 1993, Flood discharges in the upper 

Mississippi River Basin, 1993: U.S. Geological 

Survey Circular 1120–A, 14 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.

Perry, C.A., Clement, R.W., and Studley, S.E., 

1997, Delineation of flooding within the upper 

Mississippi River Basin—flood of July 10 and 

27, 1993, in Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas 

City, Kansas, and vicinity: U.S. Geological 

Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas 

 HA 735–E, 3 sheets, scale 1:24,000.

Strickrott, John, 1903, Strickrott's photographic 

souvenir of the flood, Topeka, Kansas, A.D. 

1903, with a brief Story of the flood by L.L. 

Kiene: Topeka, Kansas, 53 p.

Wahl, K.L., Vining, K.C., and Wiche, G.J., 1993, 

Precipitation in the upper Mississippi River 

Basin, January 1 through July 31, 1993: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1120–B, 13 p.

References

For more information on the water in 

Kansas, visit the USGS Web site at:

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

or contact:

District Chief

U.S. Geological Survey

4821 Quail Crest Place

Lawrence, Kansas 66049–3839

(785) 842–9909

E–mail: dc_ks@usgs.gov

Figure 4. Annual peak flows for Kansas River at Topeka (station 06889000, fig. 1) and long-term 

annual mean streamflow, 1918–2001.

1903

1951

1993

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

500,000

Annual peak flow, in cubic feet per second (ft3/s)

190219051910191519201925193019351940194519501955196019651970197519801985199019952000

2001

Long-term annual

mean, 5,903 ft3/s

(1918–2001)

Figure 3. Comparison of maximum daily annual peak flows for 1903, 1951, and 1993 at 

selected U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations. Location of stations shown in 

figures 1 and 2.

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

Maximum daily peak flow, in cubic feet per second

Republican River at

Concordia (856000)

Republican River at

Clay Center (856600)

Smoky Hill River at

Ellsworth (864500)

Smoky Hill River at

Mentor (866500)

Solomon River at

Niles (876900)

Smoky Hill River at

Enterprise (877600)

Big Blue River near

Manhattan (887000)

Kansas River at

Wamego (887500)

Kansas River at

Topeka (889000)

Kansas River at

Lecompton (891000)

Kansas River at

DeSoto (892350)

Missouri River at

Kansas City,Missouri

(893000)

(657, 1946–2001)

(978, 1918–2001)

(241, 1896–2001)

(576, 1898–2001)

(1,627, 1935–2001)

(399, 1925–2001)

(2,499, 1963–2001)

(5,248, 1920–2001)(5,903, 1918–2001)(7,437, 1937–2001)(7,528, 1918–2001)

(57,030, 1958–2000)

1903

1951

1993

Long-term annual 

mean streamflow 

and period of record

Design and layout by Michael Kemppainen