My WebLink
|
Help
|
About
|
Sign Out
Home
Browse
Search
FLOOD03024
CWCB
>
Floodplain Documents
>
Backfile
>
2001-3000
>
FLOOD03024
Metadata
Thumbnails
Annotations
Entry Properties
Last modified
1/25/2010 6:26:06 PM
Creation date
10/4/2006 11:24:12 PM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Floodplain Documents
County
Statewide
Community
State
Basin
Statewide
Title
Addressing Your Community's Flood Problems - A Guide for Elected Officials
Date
1/1/1996
Prepared For
Assn. Of State Floodplain Managers
Prepared By
Floodplain Management Group
Floodplain - Doc Type
Educational/Technical/Reference Information
There are no annotations on this page.
Document management portal powered by Laserfiche WebLink 9 © 1998-2015
Laserfiche.
All rights reserved.
/
56
PDF
Print
Pages to print
Enter page numbers and/or page ranges separated by commas. For example, 1,3,5-12.
After downloading, print the document using a PDF reader (e.g. Adobe Reader).
Show annotations
View images
View plain text
<br />PREFACE It was 3 a.m. The newly elected city commissioner. in office only 19 days, was jarred from <br /> <br />fitful sleep by the loud ringing of his bedside phone. <br /> <br />"Commissioner!" Through phone static, he recognized the voice of the mayor. "I need you to come <br /> <br />to the emergency aperations center right away, I'll send a truck to get you. It's flooding." <br /> <br />"No!" said the commissioner. "Where?" <br /> <br />"Everywhere. " <br /> <br />Thus began Tulsa's worst natural disaster, our 1984 flood. City leaders huddled in the Emergency <br /> <br />Operations Center throughout the nightmare night, shell-shocked by volley after volley of horrifying <br /> <br />reports of destruction all across town. They mustered all available forces to battle the flood. There were <br /> <br />miraculous victories, such as in Holiday Mobile Home Park, where a life flight helicopter pilot braved <br /> <br />the storm to rescue 40 people; they were plucked from their roofs, one by one, by the outstretched <br /> <br />hand of the chopper nurse. Overall, our forces were puny by comparison to the overwhelming power <br /> <br />of the water reclaiming its floodplains. Before dawn, as much as 15 inches of rain had fallen. Fourteen <br /> <br />Tulsans had lost their lives in flashing waves of water. Another 288 were hurt. Nearly 7,000 homes and <br /> <br />businesses were ruined, and another 7,000 cars and trucks - including city fire trucks, police cars, and <br /> <br />ambulances - were destroyed. Damage was $183 million, <br /> <br />In the darkest hours of that terrible night, the commissioner and our new young mayor vowed to <br /> <br />do whatever they could - and the political cost be damned - to prevent Tulsa from suffering such a <br /> <br />disastrous flood again. That commitment produced Tulsa's comprehensive stormwater management <br /> <br />program - a program born of great loss, hard lessons, and tremendous political courage. Ann Patton, <br /> <br />Community Affairs Manager, Tulsa, Oklahoma <br /> <br />This document was prepared to help you, as an elected official, plan and take action to prepare your <br /> <br />community for floods that will happen, if not during your term of office, then later, It is hoped that, by <br /> <br />taking these measures, you will avoid facing what Tulsa, Oklahoma, experienced. <br />
The URL can be used to link to this page
Your browser does not support the video tag.