Flood Risk in the Shoshone River Drainage

The National Weather Service says Wyoming’s three main winter months – December through February – were the wettest in the state’s recorded history.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports that nearly 5.5 inches of precipitation fell on the state this season on average, breaking the previous record of 4.93 inches set in 1898. The Shoshone River drainage itself is looking at over 1.1 million acre feet of runoff, according to Park County Homeland Security Coordinator Mark Knapp.

As a result, residents in this area could be facing the possibility of flooding. Tom Birney with the Federal Emergency Management Agency has some advice for people who live in areas that could flood due to the high amount of runoff anticipated in the Shoshone River drainage.

Birney also encourages residents to purchase a flood insurance policy, which is not generally covered by a homeowners policy. And he says any NFIT flood insurance policies will allow for reimbursement for flood prevention expenses.

In order to help residents and local government prepare for flooding, Knapp is asking for 10 or 12 volunteers to assist with filling sandbags on the north and south forks tomorrow and next Saturday.

Tomorrow, sandbag operations will be at the fishing access on the North Fork across from the fire hall at 2 p.m.; next Saturday volunteers will gather at 2 p.m. at the Ishawooa trailhead on the South Fork.