Ipswich River Flood of 2006
Ipswich River Flood of 2006

Ipswich River Flood of 2006

Back in 2015 I published a page called “Flood of 2006” which was a subset of the RIVER page.  Last May I deleted it but now it’s back.

The Ipswich River flooded in May of 2006, prior to either Jim or I living here.  It was considered a “100 year flood” – i.e. not repeatable for another 100 years.  Imagine Jim’s surprise in 2010, 4 months after buying the condo, when the river flooded AGAIN.  It’s definitely a wake up call.  The last photos show a flood line someone noted in our basement – AT THE CEILING!  Which is why we pay $$$ for flood insurance every year.  From HistoricIpswich.org: “14 inches of rain fell between May 14 and May 16, 2006, creating the historic 2006 Mothers Day Flood.  Water flow levels in the Ipswich River were 27% higher than recorded in previous epic floods”.  From Boxford.WickedLocal.com:  “The Mothers Day Flood crest of May 2006 was 8.45 ft., 1420 cfs, a record since measurements began at the gauge in 1938”.

All flood photo credits go to Flickr user waterpixi [used without permission].

Waterpixi’s flood photos are on the left, my comparison photos of a “normal” day are on the right:

ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi       

ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi       

ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi        the front of our house on south main street in ipswich ma

view of south main street ipswich during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi       

our condo from across the ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi       

ipswich river & fish ladder during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi       

Someone noted the water level in our basement was up to the CEILING during this flood!:

flood line in our basement from ipswich river flood of 2006        flood line in our basement from ipswich river flood of 2006

I just looked back through waterpixi’s photos from the 2006 flood and grabbed 8 more of her shots of and around our house.  At some point I’ll take comparison shots:

ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi        ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi

ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi        ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi

ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi        ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi

        ipswich river during the flood of 2006, taken by waterpixi

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6 Comments

  1. I love looking at these photos! The power of water is so awesome. NOTHING will stop it! Btw, according to the USGS, “100-year flood” means that there’s a 1% chance each year that the water will rise that high … not that it only floods once every 100 years. People always get surprised when it happens again. Hope you don’t have to face that again any time soon!

    1. Nine Dark Moons

      D’OH! I guess that makes sense. Damn statistics. 🙂 I hope we don’t either! Soon I’m going to re-create/re-post the 2010 flood that Jim did experience here!

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