Navigating Stormy Waters: General Galloway on Flood Policy 30 Years after the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1993, Part 1

In 1993, the Great Mississippi River Flood upended lives throughout the Midwest, although the greatest damage was in the Mississippi River floodplain from the Quad Cities south to around Cairo, Illinois. Thousands of people were forced into temporary shelters, and 52 people. In the aftermath of the flooding, President Clinton established a commission to review the events of the Great Flood and to make recommend policies that could reduce future damages from big floods. He appointed Gen. Gerry Galloway to head the commission, which, after its release, became known as the Galloway report.

In this episode of the Mississippi Valley Traveler podcast, I have a wide-changing conversation with Gen. Galloway to review how we’ve done in the past 30 years to prepare for floods and reduce damages from those inevitable periods of high water. Our conversation went long, so I’m splitting the interview into two parts. In part one, we talk about how flood policy has evolved since 1993 and get into some of the difficult issues were still facing, such as who is ultimately responsible for flood protection and dealing with the risks of high water, who should pay for it, the challenges of coordinating floodplain policies among federal, state, and local governments and how expectations of federal bailouts can complicate those policies; the newer problems we’re facing with intense rainfall events that flood urban areas like the recent flooding in Burlington, Vermont, and the complications and problems with the federal flood insurance program.

In the Mississippi Minute, I share a couple of my memories from the flooding around St. Louis in 1993, but mostly I want to hear from you. What are your stories from the Great Flood of 1993? Share your stories with me at MississippiValleyTraveler.com/contact, and I’ll choose a few to share on the next podcast.