The Flood of '68

Bert9785 left a post at the KWEL radio forum the other day with four photos of the photos from the pages of the Midland Reporter-Telegram articles about the flood on May 9, 1968, here in Midland, Texas.  Unfortunately the link to that forum entry is no longer valid, but scroll to the end of this post for a link to the photos.  The old newspapers are on microfilm at the Midland Public Library, and the issues pertaining to that flood make for interesting reading. 

From the May 9, 1968, Midland Reporter-Telegram:

Cloudburst Floods Midland - Wind, Water, Hail Damage to be Heavy

Almost five inches of rain accompanied by damaging hail and whipped by high winds fell from angry storm clouds in a two hour period this morning and resulting flooding virtually paralyzed the city of Midland

Traffic was brought to a standstill in many sections of the city as streets turned into torrential rivers running floorboard high on parked cars.

Reports of flooding in both homes and business firms were common as the cloudbursts caused water to surge over curbs.  City crews were dispatched to several areas to place sandbags around homes to prevent further flooding. ...

To aid rescue and other operations, the Midland unit of the Texas National Guard was called out.  And since the storm did not hit Odessa badly, a number of Odessa emergency units came here to help. ...

Meanwhile, water surged over the top of automobiles on Midland Drive near its intersection with West U.S. 80, and a rescue truck drowned out attempts to rescue the occupants. 

Fire Department units were dispatched across the city to help rescue persons trapped in their cars by the flooding.  In some cases, the water was so high that even the fire trucks were flooded out.  Fire Chief Melvin Little called for extra men. ...

Hail as large as golf balls fell during the storm, breaking windows and striping leaves and branches from trees and shrubs.

And, the next day - from the May 10, 1968, Midland Reporter-Telegram:

Midland Mops Up After Storm - One Killed, Losses Run to Millions 

At least one man is dead, hundreds are homeless, and property damage is estimated in the millions of dollars in the wake of a vicious thunderstorm that roared through the Midland area Thursday afternoon.  Rains up to seven inches were measured.

A 46 year old Lubbock salesman was killed Thursday afternoon when his auto was washed off West U.S. 80 and into a drain running along the highway's south side.  Department of Public Safety officials pulled the body of H. D. Neighbors from the twisted wreckage of his auto about 3 p.m.

Midland police said from 500 to 700 homes - many of them in Midland's fashionable northwest section - had to be evacuated. ...

The rains flooded city streets and made driving dangerous.  Two Dallas men had a narrow escape on West U.S. 80 at the same time Neighbors was killed.  ...

The Dallas men carried on a conversation with Neighbors and both drivers decided to back up until the swift running water subsided.

The Dallas car backed up about 10 feet when a torrent of water came rushing across the highway. Both cars were swept into the draw.  Neighbors car was thrown into a railroad trestle and Neighbors was trapped inside. ...

One of the heroes of the storm was Narciso Navarette of 1303 E. Parker St., an employee of the city of Midland.  Navarette picked up about 30 persons and took them to his home.  Navarette's wife cared for them three or four hours until they could go back to their homes or to the homes of friends or relatives.  ...

B. C. Henderson, president of the Midland Association of Independent Insurance Agents said today  "There is neither insurance protection provided nor available to cover damage caused by flood or surface waters to buildings, structures or contents." ...

City officials estimated 10 to 12 inches of rain fell in parts of Midland.  The official weather bureau measurement at Midland-Odessa Regional Air Terminal was 4.75 inches - below the record of more than five inches for a 24 hour period recorded in 1934.

A spokesman for the Weather Bureau said, however, that the bureau's rain gauge overflowed during the pounding hail and rain and indicated that an accurate measurement may not have been made. 

A fascinating glimpse of a moment in the past. To see photos of the photos that appeared on the microfilm, click 1968 newspaper flood photos.

Comments

[Bert9785]

I was trying to find some articles from a flood I heard about that happened in the 80's, but I do not know when that happened. Does anyone remember the flood in the 80's that I've heard about?

[George]

Ditto that. If anyone remembers or can narrow down a date for a flood in Midland in the 80s please leave a comment or email either Bert9785 or me. Thanks.

[Doug Lunsford]

I was a sophomore at Lee High School when this happened in midlfternoon. The staff moved most students to the gymnasium until they saw the roof was moving/ The drains on top of the buidling were either closed or clogged with debris. A cusatodian told us the next day that there was five foot of water sitting in the roof above the gym. Cars could not get onto Neely in front of Lee becasue water was four to five ft deep and rushing toward Midkiff Rd

[Delinda McConnell]

I was a Junior at Midland High School on the day of the 68' Flood. It was as dark as night and the rain and hail came out of the west. It was really pounding on the school. Cars started to float down the street in front of Midland High. When we got out of school we couldn't find a way to get home because of high water. Goddard Junior High was surrounded and small boats and large trucks and buses were used to get the kids home. Wadley was truly a river. Boats were going up and down Wadley all day. Homes on the park we now know as the Duck Pond had water up to the roof. Divers were sent in to retrieve valuables. The draw was running over all the bridges by at least 5 foot. We finally got home late that evening. What a mess!!! That was a day to remember. You don't realize where the low spots and the high spots are until something like this happens. It all came down in such a short amount of time the water had no where to go.

[Lynda]

I was six years old and home from kindergarten that day. It started raining real hard late that morning. My mom had had a neighbor over for a visit and she had left right before the storm intensified. At the height of the storm, we noticed water being blown in from the top of the back door. My mom told to go get some towels out of the kitchen. When I walked into the kitchen, there was water pouring in from under the cabinets. At the same time, water started pouring into the den where my mom was. We also started smelling gas and she went and turned off our gas meter. My mom turned off the gas meters at several houses on Apperson Drive that day,we lived in the 2400 block. She then ordered us to the back of the house and she started moving furniture and sweeping the water out of the house into the garage and down the driveway. We were lucky that only the west end of the house flooded. We had 27 inches of water in the backyard, we were backed up directly behind the drainge ditch. Meanwhile, my dad was frantically trying to get home to help. The police stopped him on Big Spring and told him he could not drive any further. He boated and waded his way home. My mom being my mom was mad that he had ruined his business suit by walking in the water! Then my parents worked until 2 in the morning sweeping water out of the house. We were lucky that we only had 2 to 3 inches of water in the house. My mom was able to save the furniture and we had to have the floors replaced. I also remember the National Guard coming by and picking up and dropping off neighbors all evening long. The city afterwards, came out and dugged that ditch deeper and cleaned it out. It was quite exciting for a six year old at the time but now I know and appreciate how serious it was. Life goes on and we moved away in 1975 and have had many more adventures but May 9, 1968 will always stick in my memory.

[Geo]

That's a great story, Lynda. Thanks for sharing it.

[Ajf 6]

Your blog has inspired me. Recently, I have a strong interest in nature, about the philosophy of the soul, and I have been looking for that book! Thank you very much for your blog, give me the direction!

[Dawn (Lofton) Woods]

I was in, I think, the 4th grade and was at Bowie Elementary school. My nephews were also at the school being 2 and 3 years younger than me. I don't remember much about the rain coming down because we were at school all day but late in the day, we were told to stay in the classrooms until someone came to get us. The Bowie school ground was about 4 or 5 feet deep in water. We watched parents picking up their kids in boats! At about 5:30, my dad and brother-in-law waded in in water waist deep on them to get us. I remember wading down streets in water up to my chest for several blocks before we got to a street that was high enough and was where my dad had left the car!. Our house, 2 houses from the corner of Avenue A and Osage, had 2 inches of water in it. My friend's house, caddy corner from us and on the corner of Osage and Avenue A, had water up to the 2nd floor! My friend who lived there had received a little duck for Easter and it was missing. About 3 days later, it was reported on the radio that a little duck had been found in the Wilco building downtown! It was her duck!!

[Raymond Lewis Jt.]

I worked at Cash n Carry Grocery on Main and Missouri at the time and we were sweeping water out the back door on Missouri as fast as it came in the front door on Main. There was a red VW bug that came floating South on Missouri, went around the corner bouncing off the curb, and was about to Big Spring the last time I saw it.

[Eric F. Scholl]

Enjoy your blog...and the flashback to the 1968 brought on some long-forgotten memories.
We lived at 904 Harvard at the time...and lucky to have only about half-a-foot of flooding in our home - the people at the corner of Harvard and A Street had their entire first floor under water.
My mom took some black-and-white photos which I still have.
At the time, I was attending james Bowie Elementary...I'm pretty sure school was still in session when the rain began but was probably out on that Friday.
Man, that was some event.
The only thing that ticked us off were the sightseers over the next few days that drove as far down Harvard as they could just to see the damage.

[Samantha Hernandez]

Narciso Navarrete was my grandpa, he passed away in 2016,is there anyone that remembers him personally during this flood?