Jefferson County - East-West Gateway Coordinating Council

A Regional Overview All-Hazard Mitigation Plan 83
food processing (reduced irrigation water led to a reduction in vegetable production, with
concomitant losses in jobs and income).
There are no official estimates of the total losses and damages from the 1996 drought.
Given the $5 billion in impacts that occurred in Texas, total regional impacts could be
safely estimated in the $10–15 billion range, although it is difficult to quantify many social
and environmental impacts. What was remarkable to many was the significant level of
regional vulnerability, the diversity of impacts, and the lack of preparedness to respond to
many of these impacts. Many of the states in this region have now initiated longer-term
planning efforts directed at improving mitigation and preparedness
Hazard Event History
Some of the worst droughts on record to affect Region 2 occurred in 1901-02, 1913-14,
1930-31, 1934, 1936, 1940-41, 1953-56, 1963-64, 1980-81, 1988-89 and 1999-2000.
The 1953-56 drought is considered to be the worst on record for Region 2.
Droughts on record to affect Region 5 occurred in 1900-09, 1940-49, 1950-59, 1964-66
and 1980. The drought from 1954-56 was the worst on record for Region 5. Table J44
below shows the Big River level stage during drought conditions.
TABLE J44 RIVER LEVEL STAGES IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN JEFFERSON
COUNTY
Station Stage (Flood Stage 16 ft) Date
Big River at Byrnes Mill 1.5 8/30/1936
1.5 9/13/2000
1.4 10/05/2001
An overall excellent drought resource on the Internet is the National Drought Mitigation
Center (NDMC). The NDMC provides historical drought information for the U.S. from 1895
through current. Linking to the following address will provide drought information:
http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/what.htm
Table J45 identifies, using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, the monthly average for the
period of record for the study area.
TABLE J45 PALMER DROUGHT SEVERITY INDEX MONTHLY
AVERAGE FOR PERIOD OF RECORD
1895 TO 1995
Month Division 2 Division 5
January -0.06 -0.04
February -0.42 -0.94
March -0.66 -1.16
April -0.99 -1.70
May -1.23 -1.62