REHABILITATION OF FLOOD-STRICKEN AREAS HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EIGHTY-SECOND CONGRESS FIRST SESSION 89525 Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1951 struck a vast area of the Middle West. The center of its devastation is the valley of the Kansas River, but destruction is spread through other Kansas valleys and parts of Missouri and Oklahoma, and has touched several of the adjacent States. From May 15 to early July, rain fell almost constantly over an area of thousands of square miles, with the heaviest downpours concentrated in south-central Kansas. By early July, the streams and rivers of Kansas had risen to unprecedented heights. Reservoirs, where they existed, overflowed. Millions of tons of water plunged downstream, crumbling dikes and levees all along the course and sweeping away homes, farms, businesses, roads, bridges, and communication lines. The crest of the flood hit the concentrated industrial area along the river banks at Kansas City, Kans., and Kansas City, Mo., on July 13, and swept a path of destruction across the entire width of Missouri before its force was spent. The velocity of the waters, as well as their depth and volume, was without parallel in the recorded history of the region. For the month of July, stream flow in central Kansas was 70 times normal. The loss to the Nation along 1,000 miles of river valleys is now being measured. Already more than $1,000,000,000 in physical damage and at least that much more in loss of income has been counted in preliminary estimates. When the final estimate is in, the toll will be greater. I wish that every Member of the Congress could have flown, as I did, over these valleys at the height of the flood. I wish that every Member of the Congress could now tramp through the desolated cities of Kansas and drive through the wasteland where lie what were some of the richest farm acres in the world, their crops now obliterated. It is estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 homes were flooded. Of these, some 10,000 or 15,000 are destroyed or have suffered major damage-many beyond repair. At the peak of the flood, some two or three hundred thousand persons were driven from their homes. At least 20,000 of these are still displaced-living in schoolhouses, churches, auditoriums, trailer camps, temporary housing, or with relatives, friends, or strangers who took them in when the disaster struck. At least 5,000,000 acres of farm land, including some of the richest and most productive agricultural land in the Nation, has been badly damaged. Land in the path of the floods was gouged and eroded, its topsoil carried away. At least 30,000 farms were wholly or partially under water-many standing under 25 feet or more at the peak and remaining flooded for many days. When the water left, thousands of acres were buried under sand and gravel. Thousands of acres are still covered by "trapped water" and must be drained. A year's crops were destroyed, hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of livestock killed, several million dollars worth of critical farm machinery and equipment destroyed or seriously damaged. At least 10,000 miles of fences were destroyed-enough to skirt the perimeter of the United States. Farm buildings were damaged on 17,000 farms. At least 5,000 small businesses were completely or partially destroyed. Store and factory buildings were swept away, merchandise and equipment ruined. More than $1,000,000,000 of loss-in property damage, and loss of production and employment-has already been suffered by the industries that are tightly concentrated along the Kansas and Missouri Rivers at Kansas City, Kans., and Kansas City, Mo. In many cases, particularly upstream, time was too short and trucks too few to allow families to save their furniture and other household possessions. As the crisis struck, organized effort had to be devoted to saving life. Few lives were lost, but many families today have virtually nothing beyond the clothes they wore when they fled, or were rescued from the path of the waters. In the American tradition, neighbors have taken care of neighbors. Every refugee is being sheltered; everyone is fed. Cities not flooded have "adopted" stricken cities. States and communities with emergency Federal aid are restoring and repairing roads, utilities, and public buildings. A great national organization, the American Red Cross, has done and is doing the heroic emergency job that people stricken with disaster can always count upon. During the crisis, Federal agencies, particularly the units of the Armed Forces in the area, threw all available men and resources into the fight to minimize the destruction. In the tremendous task of putting families and communities back on their feet, the Federal Government now can do two things: First, under the Disaster Relief Act of 1950, regular activities of several Federal agencies can be specially directed to emergency aid, and $25,000,000 has been appropriated to assist communities in clearing debris, in health protection, in the emergency repair of public property, and to provide temporary housing and for other emergency relief. Mr. Raymond M. Foley, Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance |