Ceremony to unveil high-mark sign for 1964 Flood

Plans are in the works to erect a sign commemorating the 1964 Flood where South Nucleus Avenue dead-ends at the Flathead River.

The 1964 Flood, often characterized as a 500-year flood event, wreaked havoc on both sides of the Continental Divide. Considered the worst natural disaster in Montana history, 30 people were killed and 20 percent of the state was inundated by the flood.

The flood event began June 7, 1964, when rain began falling in the mountains 30 miles east of Columbia Falls. Some mountain locations received 10 to 14 inches of rain. Floodwaters reached the high mark in Columbia Falls two days later in the largest flood to hit the Flathead Valley in 100 years.

While the Hungry Horse Dam held back much of the flood waters in the South Fork of the Flathead River, the swollen Middle Fork and mainstem of the Flathead River swept away homes, roads, highways, railroad tracks, livestock and the Gibson Dam on the Rocky Front, near Augusta.

The National Weather Service in Missoula and the U.S. Geological Survey will hold a ceremony unveiling the high-water mark sign on Thursday, June 7, at 1 p.m. For more information, visit online at www.weather.gov/mso.