WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
MAJOR FLOODS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY
HISTORY
January 1862: Santa Clara - Virgin River FloodIt started on Christmas eve of 1861 and continued for 40 days and nights.
December 1889: Great Flood in New Harmony
July 29,1975: Residents of Bloomington were warned there was an 18-foot wall of water coming out of Zion National Park. The water came up to within a foot or two of the floor of the Man 'O War bridge. It washed away the east end of the approach, but did no other damage.
January 1, 1989, 12:08 am: The southwest dam on the Quail Creek Reservoir failed, unleashing a 40-foot wall of water, causing a flood down the Virgin River. There were no fatalities, but $12M in damages.
January 10-11, 2005: Flood on the Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers
$200 million in damage; ?? homes lost in Washington County.
REFERENCES
Photos of the January 11, 2005 Santa Clara River floodBook "Portraits of Loss - Stories of Hope"
Published by the Stories of Hope Volunteer Committee, 2005
ISBN 0-939771-17-9
Video: "The 2005 Santa Clara - Virgin River Flood - Images of Loss and Home"
DVD produced by Hal Hilburn and Bryce Hunt
http://www.utahfloodrelief.com
"The First Christmas in St. George - 1861"
By Mary Pheonix
In http://www.dixietoday.com/history.html