Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />Drain between Sections 22 and 23, Township 21 North, Range 55 West. It <br />was estimated that the peak discharge at the former location was 10,000 <br />second-feet (drainage area of 18 square miles), and 30,000 second-feet at <br />the latter location (drainage area of 47 square miles). Satisfactory data <br />could not be obtained for estimating the peak discharges east of Highway <br />No, 29. <br /> <br />21. Areas flooded. Overbank flow occurred on all branch drains <br />leading from the canyon mouths to the Gering ~ffiin Drain (see Plate No.2). <br />The oVerbank flow was about 800 feet wide from the mouth of Roubedeau Can- <br />yon and, as the contributing area increased, gradually increased in width <br />to about 1.5 miles wide due south of Gering, Nebraska; then it gradually <br />reduced to about 0.5 mile wide near the Union Pacific Railroad main tracks. <br />A total area of 5,000 acres along the drainage canals was inundated by the <br />flood and a large area was flooded by concentration of the runoff from <br />fields and small draws. <br /> <br />22, Direct damages. 35 bridges, ranging in size from over 150 feet <br />long to small access bridges and ranging downward in value from approximately <br />$50,000, were either damaged or oompletely destroyed. The left bank of the <br />Main Drain, between Sections 17 and 20, Township 21 North, Range 55 West, <br />was eroded 8 to 10 feet into the roadway for a distance of about 0,5 mile. <br />All the roads in the flooded area were either eroded or covered with one <br />to two feet of silt. The Scottsbluff County Engineer estimated the damage <br />to county roads and bridges to be $200,000. The Union Pacific Railroad <br />pile bridge across the Gering Main Drain Was undermined, stopping traffic <br />for about 2-1/2 days. Minor damage occurred to the spur track.in Gering <br />Valley due to loss of ballast and to deposition of debris upon the tracks, <br />The direct damage to the railroads was estimated to be approximately $3,000. <br /> <br />23. The siphons crossing under the Gering Main Drain and under a <br />branch drain of the Mitchell Irrigation Canal were destroyed, and other <br />miscellaneous irrigation structures in the Gering Valley were damaged by <br />the flood. ~rr. Charles Klingman, Manager of the Gering-Ft. Laramie Irriga- <br />tion District, estimated the direct damage to the irrigation systems to be <br />$150,000. <br /> <br />24, Within the flooded area 30 groups of farm buildings were damaged <br />by deposition of silt and by inundation, Several small buildings were <br />swept downstream, and valuable machinery from one farm was buried in the <br />drain when the bank washed away. It is estimated that the damage to farm <br />buildings, machinery, and personal effects was $10,000, Approximately <br />5,000 acres of crops were damaged by silt deposition and by scour. Al- <br />though many of the crops inundated were not abandoned, as water did not <br />remain on the land long enough to smother the plants, it is estimat~d that <br />the direct damage to crops was $85,000. <br /> <br />25, There was no loss of life as a result of the flood; however, at <br />the height of the flood an entire family of beet workers, 14 persons in <br />one building, was carried 0,5 mile east of its eriginal position in the <br />southoast quarter of Section 14, Township 21 North, Range 55 West, The <br />family safely rode the flood out with the children perched in the attic. <br />The building passed over a county road and a railroad spur track, crossed <br /> <br />-10- <br />