Ohio River flood of 1937

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The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February of 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, 1 million were left homeless, with 385 dead and and property losses reaching $500 million, further worsened by the fact that it occurred during the Great Depression and just a few years after the Dust Bowl.^[1]

1 Cincinnati
2 Louisville
3 Evansville
4 Paducah
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Cincinnati

100,000 in Cincinnati were left homeless, as the flood impacted the city from January 18 to February 5. The river reached its peak on January 26, at 79.9 feet.

[edit] Louisville

Several businesses in Louisville were devastated, especially the famed Rose Island, which never rebuilt. Jeffersonville, Indiana alone saw 1,000 WPA workers come to rescue the city. $500,000 of federal money was expended in Jeffersonville, and $70,000 was sent to New Albany.^[2] The Pennsylvania Railroad evacuated many citizens by train from its depot in Jeffersonville. The flood affects the development of Louisville even to this day. The flood caused much of the initial rebuilding of the city to be directed toward the east out of the flood plain, partially contributing to a long-term concentration of wealth there and away from the older central and western areas of the city.

[edit] Evansville

Martial law was declared on January 24. 4,000 WPA workers were sent to the Vanderburgh county, where Evansville is located. After the flood, the Evansville-Vanderburgh Levee Authority District was established, which built a system of earth levees, concrete walls, and pumping stations meant to protect the city.