1965 Mississippi River Flood

Mississippi River Flood of 1965

Jeff Boyne, NWS La Crosse, WI

Main Page	Details on the Flooding	Why did it occur?	Other Mississippi River Floods
Media Accounts	Personal Accounts	Flooding Pictures	Acknowledgements

The spring Mississippi River flood of 1965 stands as the flood of record for nearly half of the river’s length (from about 100 miles north of Minneapolis, MN to Hannibal, MO). At the time, the crests of that April exceeded previous records by several feet at many river gage sites. To this day, those record crests still out distance the second highest crest by a foot or more at many of those same sites. This flood caused $225 million in damage to public and private properties, with $173 million of that occurring along the main stem of the Mississippi River. Emergency actions and evacuations, based on National Weather Service forecasts, prevented approximately $300 million in additional damage.

Flooded Causeway - Importance of the dike across Monitor and Bantam Streets is evidenced
in this view facing south across the Causeway. Eight inches of water covered the Causeway
on April 17, 1965. Edward M. Huebner - La Crosse Tribune