Flooding in Delaware and the eastern shore of Maryland from Hurricane Floyd, September 1999

Abstract

Record floods as a result of Hurricane Floyd reached 100-year discharge on many streams, and floods on several streams reached the 500-year discharge. • Major flooding was confined to the central and northern areas of the Delmarva Peninsula. • Two children in Delaware were swept away and drowned by rapidly rising floodwaters, and 7 other people throughout the region were injured as a result of the flooding.

Adjustments to U.S. Geological Survey peak-flow magnitude-frequency relations in Delaware and Maryland following Hurricane Floyd, September 1999

“…Some areas received more than 10 inches of rain, while other areas received less than 5 inches. The heaviest recorded rainfall occurred in the central part of Maryland's Eastern Shore, where a maximum of 12.59 inches was reported at Chestertown, Maryland (Tallman and Fisher, 2001).…”

“…Record-high peak discharges were recorded at several active streamflowgaging stations (referred to as "gages" in this report) in northern Delaware and on the upper Eastern Shore of Maryland. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel also surveyed highwater marks to estimate peak-flow magnitudes for the storm at selected discontinued gages in the region (Tallman and Fisher, 2001).…”