TULSA, Okla. — It was five years ago this week that 10 to 16 inches of rain dumped on Northeastern Oklahoma, causing massive flooding and devastation.
Lanny Watson and his family lived through two floods in Sand Springs near Town and Country neighborhood, an area hard hit in both disasters.
“According to the Corps of Engineers, it’s a 500-year flood plain, and we’ve been flooded twice in 33 years,” he said.
Watson and his wife still live in the same home. “We just like the neighborhood,” Watson said. “We’ve lived here so long and don’t want to move.”
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After that flood, the importance of mitigation became more apparent than ever, said Joe Kralicek, Executive Director for the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency.
Extensive efforts in the 1980s helped prevent a disaster in Tulsa in 2019. There was damage but no significant property loss. However, in the surrounding and more rural areas, hundreds of people lost homes.
The levees along the Arkansas River were not well-maintained and are still outdated.
They were built during World War II with old pump systems and are not up to modern standards. The levees protect about $2 billion in property, including two refineries.
Here's more coverage from 2019 during the floods:
Kralicek said a pending $50 million revolving fund from the legislature is critical.
“That money is vital to keeping those levees operational,” he said.
Meantime, $14.7 million and possibly more is going toward buying out homes damaged or destroyed in 2019. The homes will be demolished, and the area will be kept a green space.
“It’s really a great thing for the community and going to make us safer,” he said.
The voluntary buyout program was launched in 2022. The first closing on a home is expected this week. There are a total of 86 applications so far.
“We like to say for every day there is a disaster, there is one year of recovery, and we had individuals with homes underwater for two weeks,” said Kralicek.
Thankfully, Watson got help from his church to fix the damage to his homes—during both floods. He did not have insurance but does now.
For those still interested in the buyout program, applications will be accepted as long as there is money to continue it.
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