Ohio River flood of 1937

[[Image:1937 Ohio River flood - Louisville, Kentucky.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Louisville, Kentucky]] during the 1937 flood]] The '''Ohio River flood of 1937''' took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from [[Pittsburgh]] to [[Cairo, Illinois]], one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million. Federal and state resources

[[Image:1937 Ohio River flood - Louisville, Kentucky.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Louisville, Kentucky]] during the 1937 flood]] The '''Ohio River flood of 1937''' took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from [[Pittsburgh]] to [[Cairo, Illinois]], one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million. Federal and state resources were strained to aid recovery, as the disaster occurred during the [[Great Depression]] and a few years after the [[Dust Bowl]]. == Event timeline == * January 5: Water levels began to rise * January 10: A severe winter storm affected portions of [[Southern Indiana]] with [[snow]], [[Ice storm|sleet]] and heavy [[rain] * January 10-18: Numerous flood warnings were issued across much of the region. * January 13-24: Near record rainfalls were recorded. * January 18: Numerous homes were flooded as the [[Ohio River]] started to overflow its banks due to the heavy rains. * January 23-24: [[Martial law]] was declared in [[Evansville, Indiana]], where the water level was at {{convert|54|ft|m}}. * January 26: [[River gauge]] levels reached {{convert|80|ft|m}} in [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], the highest level in the city's history. * January 27: River gauge reached {{convert|57|ft|m}} in the [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]] area, setting a new record. Seventy percent of the city was under water at that time. * February 2: River gauge reached over {{convert|60|ft|m}} in [[Paducah, Kentucky]] * February 5: Water levels fell below the [[flood stage]] for the first time in nearly three weeks in several regions. == Aftermath and reconstruction == [[Image:1937 flood Shawneetown Illinois refugees.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Members of a refugee family left homeless by the flood in Shawneetown, Illinois]] === Media response === A handful of powerhouse [[AM Broadcasting|radio]] stations, including [[WLW]] and [[WHAS (AM)|WHAS]], quickly switched to non-stop news coverage, transmitting commercial-free for weeks. These broadcasts consisted mostly of messages being relayed to rescue crews, as many civil agencies had no other means of communication. === Government response === In January 1937, the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]], District Engineer, MAJ Bernard Smith dispatched an entire fleet down the [[Cumberland River]] for rescue and relief work in response to the severe flooding. The bridges were too low to allow the vessels to pass under, so the vessels were forced to steam across farmland and bridge approaches, dodging telephone and power lines. The federal government under President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] sent thousands of area WPA workers to the affected cities to aid in rescue and recovery. It also sent supplies for food and temporary housing, and millions of dollars in aid after the floodwaters receded. The scale of the 1937 flood was so unprecedented that civic and industrial groups lobbied national authorities to create a comprehensive plan for flood control. The plan involved creating more than seventy storage reservoirs to reduce [[Ohio River]] flood heights. Not fully completed by the [[Army Corps of Engineers]] until the early 1940s, the new facilities have drastically reduced flood damages since. In the 1930s, the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] sought to create a continuous minimum 9-foot (2.7 m) channel along the entirety of the [[Tennessee River]] from [[Paducah]] to [[Knoxville]]. The Authority also sought to help control flooding on the lower [[Mississippi River]], especially in the aftermath of the [[Ohio River]] flood of 1937, as research had shown that 4% of the water in the lower [[Mississippi River]] originates in the [[Tennessee River]] watershed. TVA surveyed the lower part of the river and considered the Aurora Landing site, but eventually settled on the present site at river mile 22.4. The [[Kentucky Dam]] project was authorized on May 23, 1938, and construction began July 1, 1938. Much of the work of the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] in the [[Tennessee River]] basin was strongly supported by the majority of the citizens in western [[Kentucky]] and their representatives in the [[United States Congress]]. U.S.Sen. [[Alben W. Barkley]] of [[Paducah]] and U.S. Rep. [[William Gregory]] from [[Mayfield]] and his brother U.S. Rep. [[Noble Gregory]] from [[Mayfield]] who succeeded him in office strongly supported the funding of TVA and its role in addressing flood control, soil conservation, family relocation, recreation, production of electricity, and economic development. === Ohio === Six to {{convert|12|in|mm}} of rain fell in Ohio during January 13-25, 1937, totals never before or since equaled over such a large area of Ohio. January 1937 remains as the wettest month ever recorded in Ohio. One hundred thousand people in Cincinnati were left homeless, as the flood affected the city from January 18 to February 5. The river reached its peak on January 26, at {{convert|79.9|ft|m}}. Ohio River levels on January 26-27 were the highest known from [[Gallipolis, Ohio|Gallipolis]] downstream past Cincinnati. Crests were 20 to {{convert|28|ft|m}} above flood stage and 4 to {{convert|9|ft|m}} above the previous record of 1884. Ten percent of the city's area was flooded, the water supply was cut, and streetcar service was curtailed. At Portsmouth, the rising river threatened to top the flood wall, erected {{convert|10|ft|m}} above flood stage. City officials deliberately opened the flood gates and allowed river water to flood the business district 8 to {{convert|10|ft|m}} deep, thus preventing a catastrophic breaching of the flood wall. The Ohio River eventually crested {{convert|14|ft|m}} over the top of the [[floodwall]]. Among the flooded structures was [[Crosley Field]], home field of the [[Cincinnati Reds]] baseball team. Ten people died, many fewer than the 467 killed in the floods of March 1913. === Kentucky === Several businesses in the Louisville area were devastated, especially the famed [[Rose Island (amusement park)|Rose Island]] amusement park (on the Indiana side of the river near [[Charlestown, Indiana|Charlestown]]), which never rebuilt. As a result of the flood, newer development in Louisville was directed to the east out of the flood plain. The east side has benefited by a long-term concentration of wealth among residents and businesses which located away from the older central and western areas of the city. At Paducah, the Ohio River rose above its {{convert|50|ft|m|sing=on}} flood stage on January 21, cresting at {{convert|60.8|ft|m}} on February 2 and receding again to {{convert|50|ft|m}} on February 15. For nearly three weeks, 27,000 residents were forced to flee to stay with friends and relatives in higher ground in McCracken County or in other counties. Some shelters were provided by the [[American Red Cross]] and local churches. Buildings in downtown Paducah bear historic plaques that note the high water marks. With {{convert|18|in|mm}} of rainfall in 16 days, along with sheets of swiftly moving ice, the '37 flood was the worst natural disaster in Paducah's history. Because Paducah's earthen levee was ineffective against this flood, the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] was commissioned to build the flood wall that now protects the city. === Indiana === [[Image:1937 flood Indiana farmhouse.jpg|thumb|right|250px|An upturned farmhouse in [[Posey County, Indiana]].]] The river rose to a record {{convert|53.74|ft|m}}, which was {{convert|19|ft|m}} above flood stage, and sent water over the six-month old riverfront plaza in Evansville. The city and state declared martial law on January 24th and the federal government sent 4,000 WPA workers to the city to assist rescue operations. Residents were rapidly evacuated from river towns by train and bus in the early stages of the flood, making Indiana the only state to avoid drowning fatalities. More than 100,000 persons were left homeless by the disaster. The WPA workers led the cleanup of the city. The Evansville Merchants Retail Bureau took out newspaper ads to praise their work:

"Before and during the flood these men of WPA were active in salvaging property and saving lives, and immediately afterward they handled the cleanup job with such efficiency that many visitors were amazed that there was practically no evidence of the flood left throughout our entire city. All honor and gratitude is due to the rank and file of the WPA for their often almost super-human efforts, always giving their best in the interest of humanity."

The Red Cross and federal government spent the equivalent of $11 million in today's money in aid to the city. The Indiana State Flood Commission was created in response, and it established the Evansville-Vanderburgh Levee Authority District, which built a system of earth levees, concrete walls, and pumping stations to protect the city. [[Jeffersonville, Indiana|Jeffersonville]] welcomed the 1,000 [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] workers who came to rescue that city's residents. The federal government spent $500,000 in aid there, and $70,000 in New Albany. The [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] evacuated many area residents by train from its depot in Jeffersonville. Several small riverside towns, such as [[Mauckport, Indiana|Mauckport]] and [[New Amsterdam, Indiana|New Amsterdam]], were so devastated that they never recovered. === Illinois === [[Harrisburg, Illinois|Harrisburg]] suffered flooding from the Ohio River in 1883-1884 and again in 1913. Its most severe flood was in 1937, when much of the city, except "Crusoe's Island", was underwater. Floodwaters reached nearly {{convert|30|mi|km}} inland and Harrisburg was nearly destroyed. Afterward, the government erected a levee north and east of the city to protect it from future floods. The levee has become the official northern and eastern border of the town. == Further reading == * Welky, David. ''The Thousand-Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937'' (University of Chicago Press; 2011) 255 pages == External links == * [http://www.enquirer.com/flood_of_97/history4.html "Pictures of Cincinnati during the 1937 flood"], ''The Enquirer'' * [http://woodspoint.org/meade/bbrg1937.htm A personal account of the 1937 flood], Woodspoint * [http://www.somacc.com/ "Portsmouth, Ohio"], The Ackerman Collection of Historic Photographs, Southern Ohio Museum * [http://www.mtvernonin.com/MtV1937Flood.htm 1937 "Flood pictures of Posey County"], Mt. Vernon, Indiana Website {{coord missing|Ohio}}