Local

Memorial Day flood of '84 changed Tulsa forever

The Memorial Day weekend triggers some frightening memories for longtime residents of Tulsa.

In 1976, the city suffered a major flood, but in 1984 the Memorial Day weekend saw the worst flood in the city's history.

Between 6" and 15" of rain fell in an eight-hour period across the area.

Fourteen people died, 288 were injured.

More than 5,500 buildings and 7,000 vehicles were damaged or destroyed, including more than 20 schools.

Damages (in 1984 dollars) were estimated at $180 million.

Most of the damage occurred along Mingo Creek in east Tulsa.

Angelo Dalessandro works at the Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center in Tulsa, one of 13 river forecast centers in the country.

The floods of '76 and '84 sparked the interest that would become his career.

He tells KRMG he remembers his father waking him up early on the morning of May 27, 1984.

"It was still raining heavily, by this time Mingo Creek was coming out of its banks. Prior to that, the sewers were backing up," he told KRMG.

"Some of the homes right near the creek got water in their second floors," he added.

He later went outside and almost got caught in the flood waters as they began to recede, a story he never shared with his parents.

Not far away, a very pregnant Mary Al Khaldi was in her second floor apartment near 31st and Mingo.

She woke up, and looked outside to see a construction trailer from across the street floating by the window.

"It was one of the most frightening nights of my life," she told KRMG. "We lost three cars in that flood."

With help, she waded out into water nearly five feet deep and was helped into a small boat.

She says she seriously considered leaving Tulsa for good after that, but now she's glad she stayed.

After the flood, Tulsa developed a flood plain control program that has become known as one of the best, if not the best, in the world.

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