Remembering the Deadly Flood of 1955 that Put a NorCal Town Under 20 Feet of Water

It was just minutes past midnight of Christmas Eve 1955 when the Gum Tree Levee on the Feather River in Sutter County collapsed, sending a 21-foot wall of water into Yuba City. In the darkness of the night, the town would go into complete chaos, with families fleeing from their homes to escape the deadly flood.

Downtown Yuba City 1955

In the end, 40,000 people would evacuate the surrounding area, with over 600 needing to be rescued by boat or helicopter and 38 people dying in the floodwater. It was a devastating natural disaster and a strong lesson for the area that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls “the most prone to intense flooding of any river valley in the United States.”

The storm that caused the rise in waters in Northern California was one for the ages. A bombardment of precipitation slammed the entire west coast, with Shasta County receiving 15.34 inches in just 24 hours on December 20th. A statewide disaster was declared, with the storm resulting in 74 deaths and $200 million in economic losses.

Cover of the Desert Sun on December 24, 1955

Yuba City and the surrounding communities felt the majority of these losses.

On the confluence of the Yuba and Feather Rivers sits the small town of Yuba City, whose only hope to avoid significant flooding during large storms was its strategically placed levees. Fortunately, the levees of the nearby town of Marysville held during the storm, although some of the floodwater still made its way to the town. The levee south of Yuba City wasn’t as fortunate as the water poured in through the town, and the 5th Street Bridge was completely washed away downstream.

With the collapse of the levee, downtown Yuba City quickly found itself sitting under 8 feet of water, with its 10,000 residents immediately scattering to find dry land. Army units were dispatched from Camp Beale to the scene, where military boats and helicopters picked people up off the tops of houses and on tree branches. If it weren’t for the efforts of the military, many more may have died.

The Christmas Eve disaster received national attention ad President Dwight D. Eisenhower calling it a “major” incident. While the town quickly became an apocalyptic scene, 1,500 police and army officials strolled through the knee-high water in downtown Yuba City with instructions to shoot looters on sight.

Eventually, the town would dry and rebuild. Today, more that 65,000 people live in the small town, with memories of flooding long in the past and new, improved levees on the forefront of their protection. But for the older generation of Yuba City residents, the memory of their town underwater is something that will never be forgotten.

Watch a full documentary of the flood from the Sutter County archives:

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

303 Comments

  1. This is the right webpage for anybody who wishes to understand
    this topic. You realize a whole lot its almost tough
    to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa).
    You certainly put a new spin on a subject that’s been written about for ages.
    Excellent stuff, just wonderful!

  2. Remember this well. We were not in the Sac Valley yet but were in the Tulelake area, homesteaders there in 1949. Lots of snow in Tulelake that year.

  3. My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for.

    Would you offer guest writers to write content for yourself?
    I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on many of
    the subjects you write about here. Again, awesome blog!

  4. Yohoho.io is an appealing multiplayer activity that contains taken the
    gaming world wide by way of storm. It is a activity that is
    unbelievably simple to play and needs no exclusive capabilities.
    The reason of the activity is in the direction of get as considerably treasure as prospective and in direction of turn into the richest pirate within the video game.

  5. I am curious to find out what blog system you are utilizing? I’m experiencing some minor security problems with my latest site and I would like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any solutions?

  6. Excellent site you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article? I’d really love to be a part of online community where I can get opinions from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Kudos!

  7. Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I will definitely comeback.

  8. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one these days.

  9. Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept talking about this. I am going to forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!

  10. Hey! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when viewing from my iphone 4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to fix this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share. Thanks!

  11. Wonderful beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your web site, how can i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I have been tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast provided vibrant transparent concept

  12. Hello would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at a honest price? Many thanks, I appreciate it!

  13. Its like you read my thoughts! You seem to grasp a lot about
    this, such as you wrote the e book in it or something.
    I think that you simply could do with some
    p.c. to drive the message home a little bit, however instead of that, that is fantastic blog.
    A great read. I’ll certainly be back.

  14. Wow, wonderful weblog layout! How lengthy have you ever been blogging for?

    you made blogging look easy. The full look of your site is fantastic,
    as well as the content material!

  15. Hey There. I found your blog the use of msn. This is an extremely smartly written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I will definitely comeback.

  16. Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to far added agreeable from you! By the way, how can we communicate?

  17. Right now it sounds like Movable Type is the top blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?

  18. Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your weblog. You have some really great posts and I think I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested. Cheers!

  19. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your website? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would certainly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Regards!

  20. Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after going through some of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!

  21. Whats up are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  22. Thank you for any other informative web site. Where else may I am getting that kind of info written in such a perfect method? I have a project that I am simply now running on, and I have been at the glance out for such information.

  23. Hi there! This article couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept talking about this. I’ll forward this information to him. Pretty sure he will have a very good read. Thanks for sharing!

  24. I like the valuable information you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I am quite certain I will learn a lot of new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!

  25. Whats up this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  26. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would truly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Regards!

  27. Simply wish to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness in your post is simply nice and i can assume you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the gratifying work.

  28. I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?

  29. Hey! I know this is somewhat off-topic but I had to ask. Does running a well-established blog like yours take a massive amount work? I’m completely new to blogging but I do write in my diary on a daily basis. I’d like to start a blog so I can share my own experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any ideas or tips for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!

  30. Hi there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  31. Pretty great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to mention that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing on your feed and I hope you write again soon!

  32. Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It actually was a leisure account it. Glance complicated to far brought agreeable from you! By the way, how can we communicate?

  33. It’s remarkable to go to see this web site and reading the views of all friends regarding this piece of writing, while I am also keen of getting experience.

  34. Hey There. I found your blog the use of msn. This is a very smartly written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I will definitely comeback.

  35. I’ve read some just right stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much attempt you set to create this type of fantastic informative web site.

  36. Wow, superb blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging glance easy. The total glance of your site is wonderful, let alonewell as the content!

  37. I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?

  38. You can definitely see your enthusiasm in the article you write. The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. All the time go after your heart.

  39. This design is spectacular! You certainly know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

  40. Yesterday, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 40 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!

  41. I am extremely inspired with your writing skills and alsowell as with the layout for your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you customize it yourself? Either way stay up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one these days..

  42. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your website? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would certainly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Regards!

  43. Excellent post however , I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Kudos!

  44. Fantastic post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Thanks!

  45. Great article! This is the type of information that are supposed to be shared around the web. Disgrace on the seek engines for not positioning this publish upper! Come on over and visit my site . Thank you =)

  46. Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will eventually come back down the road. I want to encourage yourself to continue your great posts, have a nice morning!

  47. When I originally commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the same comment. Is there a way you can remove me from that service? Cheers!

  48. hi!,I really like your writing so so much! proportion we keep in touch more approximately your post on AOL? I need an expert in this area to unravel my problem. May be that is you! Taking a look forward to see you.

  49. Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your weblog. You have some really great posts and I believe I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested. Cheers!

  50. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this blog with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  51. Hmm it seems like your website ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any recommendations for novice blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.

  52. Howdy I am so thrilled I found your webpage, I really found you by error, while I was researching on Askjeeve for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a marvelous post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the superb job.

  53. Have you ever thought about creating an e-book or guest authoring on other websites? I have a blog based upon on the same ideas you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my subscribers would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e mail.

  54. Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

  55. hi!,I love your writing so so much! proportion we keep up a correspondence more approximately your post on AOL? I need an expert in this area to solve my problem. May be that is you! Taking a look forward to peer you.

  56. Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Many thanks, However I am going through difficulties with your RSS. I don’t know why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody else getting identical RSS problems? Anyone who knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanx!!

  57. My brother suggested I might like this blog. He used to be totally right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t believe just how much time I had spent for this information! Thank you!

  58. Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your blog? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my users would certainly benefit from a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Thank you!

  59. ????? ????????? ?????????? ??? ?????????? ?????? ???? ? ??????? ?????????? ? ??? ?? ???? styazhka-pola24.ru! ?? ?????????? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ????????? ? ???????, ? ????? ??????????? ??????? ???????? ?????.

  60. ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ? ?????????????? ?? ????? styazhka-pola24.ru! ?? ????????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ?2 ?? ????????? ?????????, ? ????? ?????????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ? ?????? ? ???????.

  61. You really make it seem so easy together with your presentation however I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It kind of feels too complicated and very large for me. I am taking a look forward for your next post, I will try to get the cling of it!

  62. Thank you for some other wonderful article. Where else may just anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect approach of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am at the look for such information.

  63. When I originally commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it!

  64. My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content for you personally? I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on many of the subjects you write in relation to here. Again, awesome site!

  65. ?????? ???????? ???????????????? ?????????? ???? ? ??????, ?? ?? ??????, ??? ?????? ????????? ??????????? ?????????? ? ??? ?? ???? mehanizirovannaya-shtukaturka-moscow.ru! ?? ????????????? ?????? ?? ??????????????? ???? ???????????????? ????????, ? ????? ??????????? ???????? ? ??????????.

  66. Pretty component to content. I simply stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to say that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing in your augment or even I achievement you access persistently fast.

  67. Link exchange is nothing else except it is simply placing the other person’s webpage link on your page at proper place and other person will also do same in favor of you.

  68. Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve be aware your stuff prior to and you’re simply too magnificent. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you’re stating and the best way by which you are saying it. You are making it entertaining and you still take care of to stay it sensible. I cant wait to read far more from you. This is actually a great site.

  69. Hi there! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when viewing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to fix this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share. Cheers!

  70. Unquestionably consider that that you stated. Your favourite justification appeared to be at the internet the simplest thing to be mindful of. I say to you, I definitely get irked even as folks consider worries that they plainly do not realize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing with no need side effect , other folks can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you

  71. I think this is one of the so much important information for me. And i’m glad reading your article. However want to observation on few basic things, The site taste is great, the articles is in reality nice : D. Good activity, cheers

  72. I have been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be much more useful than ever before.

  73. Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is valuable and all. Nevertheless think of if you added some great graphics or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, this website could certainly be one of the greatest in its niche. Superb blog!

  74. Appreciating the time and energy you put into your site and in depth information you provide. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same unwanted rehashed material. Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.

  75. First off I want to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your mind before writing. I have had a tough time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Thanks!

  76. I am really loving the theme/design of your weblog. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility problems? A number of my blog visitors have complained about my blog not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any advice to help fix this issue?

  77. I blog quite often and I really appreciate your content. This great article has really peaked my interest. I am going to book mark your site and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed as well.

  78. A person necessarily lend a hand to make seriously articles I would state. This is the first time I frequented your web page and to this point? I amazed with the research you made to create this actual publish incredible. Fantastic process!

  79. I simply could not leave your site prior to suggesting that I really enjoyed the standard information a person supply in your visitors? Is going to be back ceaselessly in order to check out new posts

  80. Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very smartly written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I will definitely comeback.

  81. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.

  82. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is magnificent blog. An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.

  83. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

  84. My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on a variety of websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!

  85. It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or advice. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read more things about it!

  86. Heya are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  87. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage? My blog site is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Cheers!

  88. When I originally commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a means you can remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!

  89. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

  90. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

  91. What i do not realize is in reality how you’re not really a lot more well-liked than you may be right now. You are so intelligent. You understand therefore significantly when it comes to this topic, produced me in my opinion consider it from numerous various angles. Its like men and women aren’t interested unless it’s something to accomplish with Woman gaga! Your own stuffs excellent. All the time maintain it up!

  92. Hi there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading through your articles. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Thanks for your time!

  93. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently rapidly.

  94. My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on several websites for about a year and am worried about switching to another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!

  95. Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!

  96. Unquestionably believe that that you stated. Your favourite justification appeared to be at the net the simplest thing to have in mind of. I say to you, I definitely get irked whilst other people consider worries that they plainly do not realize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing with no need side effect , other folks can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you

  97. Wow, wonderful blog structure! How lengthy have you ever been blogging
    for? you make running a blog glance easy. The overall look of your web
    site is great, let alone the content! You can see similar: ecommerce and here ecommerce

  98. Wow, incredible weblog structure! How long have you been blogging for?
    you made blogging glance easy. The overall glance of your website is magnificent, let alone the content!
    You can see similar: dobry sklep and here dobry sklep

  99. It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or suggestions. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article. I want to read more things about it!

  100. I am curious to find out what blog system you are working with? I’m experiencing some minor security problems with my latest website and I would like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any suggestions?

  101. You can definitely see your enthusiasm in the article you write. The arena hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. Always go after your heart.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button