{"id":880,"date":"2026-05-30T16:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T16:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880"},"modified":"2026-05-30T16:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T16:07:48","slug":"deseret-news-archives-1983-flooding-nearly-overwhelmed-downtown-salt-lake-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880","title":{"rendered":"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: This story was originally published on May 30, 2024.<\/i><\/p>

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.<\/i><\/p>

There was a time when a river ran through Salt Lake City, along State Street. On May 30, 1983, Utahns braced for the worst, according to Deseret News archives.<\/p>

Read more Opinion: Utah\u2019s adoptive families need trauma support, not predatory \u2018solutions\u2019<\/a><\/p>

\u201cStorms threaten to aggravate flood nightmare,\u201d read the top headline of the May 30 front page, describing a tense weekend when flow from the different creeks above Salt Lake City reached all-time highs.<\/p>

\u201cBracing for the worst, crews channel overflow into State Street canal,\u201d topped the story by staff writers John Ward and Lee Davidson.<\/p>

\u201cCooling temperatures could reduce Salt Lake area flooding, but threatening thunderstorms would complete \u2018the absolute worst case scenario for flooding,\u2019 flood control officials say.<\/p>

\u201cWeary city and county crews and volunteers continued efforts Monday morning after a rash of flooding Sunday, dreading the afternoon thunderstorms that are forecast for Monday and Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>

Coverage then and since has focused on the hard work of professionals and masses of Utah residents who stepped up to help sandbag a temporary river channel along State Street.<\/p>

Read more How BYU men athletes and other Utah ties fared at NCAA track and field prelims on Friday<\/a><\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Here are some wonderful images and stories from the spring into early summer, as well as in the ensuing years, courtesy of Deseret News colleagues:<\/p>

\u201cHell or high water\u201d<\/p>

\u201cChiefs from \u201883 remember Salt Lake floods and their impacts on conditions now\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThe great floods of 1983 and 1952\u2033<\/p>

\u201c\u201883 floods top Utah\u2019s \u2018disaster\u2019 list. Tornado, avalanche, cold also rank high for century\u201d<\/p>

\u201cCould the infamous \u2018State Street River\u2019 return following record-breaking snowfall?\u201d<\/p>

What emerged in reading the many stories of hard work and sacrifice in 1983, and through reflections of key players, was the attitude of Utahns of all ages, faiths and walks of life who pitched in to help save the city.<\/p>

Read more The Scripps National Spelling Bee champ set a new competition record. Here\u2019s the winning word<\/a><\/p>

Related<\/div>
Deseret News timeline<\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volunteers bolstered beleaguered front-line workers to corral Mother Nature. Remembering the Utah floods of 1983.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-utah"],"yoast_head":"\nDeseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City - American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Volunteers bolstered beleaguered front-line workers to corral Mother Nature. Remembering the Utah floods of 1983.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-30T16:07:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\"},\"headline\":\"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T16:07:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880\"},\"wordCount\":360,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Utah\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880\",\"name\":\"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City - American Movers Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T16:07:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif\",\"width\":630,\"height\":331},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=880#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Movers Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City - American Movers Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City - American Movers Hub","og_description":"Volunteers bolstered beleaguered front-line workers to corral Mother Nature. Remembering the Utah floods of 1983.","og_url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880","og_site_name":"American Movers Hub","article_published_time":"2026-05-30T16:07:48+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af"},"headline":"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City","datePublished":"2026-05-30T16:07:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880"},"wordCount":360,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif","articleSection":["Utah"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880","name":"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City - American Movers Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-30T16:07:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5fbcff2ff1706355ee9fa851b1c0309f.avif","width":630,"height":331},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=880#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Deseret News archives: 1983 flooding nearly overwhelmed downtown Salt Lake City"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/","name":"American Movers Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/americanmovershub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}