2019 was a notorious year that went down in Oklahoma's history books. Mother Nature hasn't ever been kind to the Sooner State in May - from deadly tornadoes to large hail and historic flooding, we have felt the consequences of these weather-related events for all our lives. Many cities in northeastern Oklahoma experienced the worst flood in decades in 2019, while others were faced with historic flooding (not that that's a whole lot better). Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, lives were been lost, homes were damaged...and that was just the beginning. Take a look at these nine heartbreaking photos that show the devastation of Oklahoma's worst flood in decades.
Every single county in Oklahoma was put under a state of emergency due to flooding and/or tornado damage. Several towns along the Arkansas River dealt with catastrophic flooding, and others were faced with worsening conditions even still.
Muskogee and surrounding towns were some of the hardest hit areas, forced to deal with catastrophic levels of floodwater.
Most of Eastern Oklahoma broke previous May rainfall records, making our rivers swell and flood over in many locations. Some areas, like Sand Springs, were held up by 70-year-old levees, which could have given way at any moment.
Oklahoma's worst flood in decades wasn't done yet: River Spirit Casino in Tulsa was temporarily shut down as the parking lot, pool, spa, and basement were completely flooded.
Many roads and highways were shut down. All roadways were cut off going into Braggs, and power was shut off to thousands of homes.
In Sand Springs, this home was almost completely under water; many Oklahomans didn't, and still don't, have flood insurance - making this terrible situation even worse.
Shelters struggled at full capacity, leaving people to find shelters far away from home, which only made matters seem worse for many.
First responders and government officials worked overtime to help rescue people and monitor Oklahoma's hardest-hit dams, bridges, and levees to ensure that they held up - and to warn folks to evacuate if they didn't.
South of Tulsa in the Bixby/Leondard area, streets were almost unrecognizable.
See the video below from YouTube user tulsaworld for flyover footage of Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Owasso, and Sand Springs:
For more footage of these historic flooding conditions, take a look at this aerial view of Muskogee flooding (from youtube user Nick Goodwin):
One thing is for sure: this nightmare was the worst Oklahoma flood in decades, and we really, really hope that history never repeats itself.
If you would like to make a donation to Oklahoma flood victims, please click here.
You may recall we posted an article at the beginning of May about the prediction for tornado outbreaks being above average in May and into June. Unfortunately, that prediction looks to be true. You can read all about it here.
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