The Great Flood of 1993 broke levees, washed away farmland, and flooded major transportation arteries across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois. It was the costliest and most devastating flood in modern US history.
A rainy autumn and snowy winter the year before combined with a wet, stormy spring and summer to push the Mississippi River's crest levels to record highs, breaking the river gages that measure them along the way. The deluge inundated at least 75 towns and more than 20 million acres, causing $33.8 billion in damages. Approximately 54,000 people had to be evacuated at some time during the flood, which caused 48 fatalities.
