Jefferson County - East-West Gateway Coordinating Council

A Regional Overview All-Hazard Mitigation Plan 85
Intensity or Strength
The Palmer Drought Severity Index can be utilized to determine the intensity or strength of
droughts. Table J45 above lists the average monthly Palmer Drought Severity Index from
1895 to 1995 for Regions 2 (St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Franklin
County) and 5 (Jefferson County).
Lives Lost, Injuries, Property Damage, Economic Losses/Other Losses
The drought of 1988-89 cost the U.S. an estimated $39 billion. To provide perspective,
estimated damages of the record flood of 1993 were in the range of $12-$16 billion. The
social and economic costs of drought are substantial. Given the extent to which the U.S.
relies on acceptable water supply for health and well- being, the need for advanced
drought planning is obvious.
Although the 1988–89 drought was the most economically devastating disaster in the
history of the United States (Riebsame et al., 1991), a close second is undoubtedly the
series of droughts that affected large portions of the United States in the 1930’s.
Determining the direct and indirect costs associated with this period of droughts is a
difficult task because of the broad impacts of drought, the event’s close association with
the Great Depression, the fast revival of the economy with the start of World War II, and
the lack of adequate economic models for evaluating losses at that time. However, broad
calculations and estimates can provide valuable generalizations of the economic impact of
the 1930s drought. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) reported that
drought was the principal reason for economic relief assistance in the Great Plains region
during the 1930s (Link et al., 1937). Federal aid to the drought-affected states was first
given in 1932, but the first funds marked specifically for drought relief were not released
until the fall of 1933. In all, assistance may have reached $1 billion (in 1930s dollars) by the
end of the drought (Warrick et al., 1980).