The Delaware River Floods of 2004, 2005, and 2006: Causes and Lessons Learned

The September 2004 flood, a product of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, produced massive destruction along the Delaware River. Less than seven months later, in April 2005, the Delaware River rose to higher levels as a result of snow melt and unusually high amounts of rain. In June of 2006, the Delaware River was subject to severe flooding again as a result of a week-long rainfall event. The severity of suffering three floods within eighteen months of each other can only be known by those citizens who lived through it. Although these three floods provided for massive amounts of property damages, they also provide insight into why we must invest resources to further understand these events and become better at predicting them to lessen the damages suffered. This paper presents facts about the three floods, provides possible reasons for their occurrence, and offers suggestions to mitigate damages during future floods.