City authorities decided that then-existing Federal guidelines were inadequate to control the local situation and began to develop more stringent requirements. This article describes some of the more notable floods in Tulsa, then the mitigation and control strategies that evolved from them.įloods continued to endanger life and property, as the city encroaches on the surrounding farm land. Not until 1970 did the city government begin developing strategies to mitigate floods or at least minimize property damage and prevent loss of life. Since its founding, city leaders had responded to such events by simply rebuilding and replacing the property that had been destroyed in situ. By the 1920s, seasonal floods of the Arkansas began to cause serious damage and loss of life. The floods typically caused widespread property damage and sometimes death. However, by the turn of the 20th century the population growth had moved closer to the river, and the flatlands west of the Arkansas had begun to develop as well.
Thus, elevation protected most of the inhabitants and their possessions from damage when the river flooded. The city was founded atop a bluff on the Arkansas River. The combination of topographic and climatic factors in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area have frequently caused major flash flooding, especially near streams that normally drain the area.
