Description: This photograph shows homes destroyed by the 1937 Ohio River flood, also referred to as the Great Flood. In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F05_038_001
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Houses; Works Progress Administration
Places: Ohio
 

Description: In January and February of 1937, weeks of heavy rainfall caused the Ohio River to flood parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, causing $500 million in property damages, and displacing and killing hundreds. By the end of January, the Ohio River measured 80 feet deep in Cincinnati, one of the areas most affected. President Roosevelt dispatched thousands of relief workers from the Works Progress Administration to rescue flood victims and restore affected cities. This photograph shows a house after the waters receded, destroyed by the flood and debris scattered across the property. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in the Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F05_039_001
Subjects: Floods; Natural disasters; Ohio River; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This is an aerial view of damage caused to the town of Xenia, Ohio, after a tornado struck on April 4, 1974. The Xenia tornado was part of a tornado super-outbreak that occurred across the country from April 3-4. The Xenia tornado killed 32 people, and destroyed half the buildings in the city and 300 homes. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03878
Subjects: Tornado damage; Natural disasters--United States; Tornadoes--Ohio--Xenia; Aerial views
Places: Xenia (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is an aerial view of damage caused to the town of Xenia, Ohio, after a tornado struck on April 4, 1974. The Xenia tornado was part of a tornado super-outbreak that occurred across the country from April 3-4. The Xenia tornado killed 32 people, and destroyed half the buildings in the city and 300 homes. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03879
Subjects: Tornado damage; Natural disasters--United States; Tornadoes--Ohio--Xenia; Aerial views
Places: Xenia (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is an aerial view of damage caused to the town of Xenia, Ohio, after a tornado struck on April 4, 1974. The Xenia tornado was part of a tornado super-outbreak that occurred across the country from April 3-4. The Xenia tornado killed 32 people, and destroyed half the buildings in the city and 300 homes. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03880
Subjects: Tornado damage; Natural disasters--United States; Tornadoes--Ohio--Xenia; Aerial views
Places: Xenia (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio)
 

Description: Picture postcard showing the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Lorain, Ohio, following the devastating tornado of June 28, 1924. Large sections of the walls and roof of the church are crumbled and missing. The deadliest tornado in Ohio history struck Lorain and Sandusky on Saturday, June 28, 1924. This was not the largest or strongest tornado to occur in Ohio, but the violent storm struck an urban center where thousands of people were put at risk. There were 85 fatalities, 72 of which occurred in Lorain. The Lorain Tornado formed over Sandusky Bay and passed eastward, striking the northern edge of Sandusky at 4:35 PM. One hundred homes and 25 businesses were destroyed in the town, and there were eight deaths. The tornado continued over Lake Erie before coming ashore at the Lorain Municipal Bath House in Lakeview Park. Buildings were damaged for 35 blocks along Broadway and at least 200 automobiles were buried in bricks and other debris. More than 1,000 homes were damaged and 500 destroyed in Lorain. All downtown businesses sustained some damage. The death toll of 15 in the State Theater is the most ever killed by a tornado in one building in Ohio. Dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses arrived in Lorain Saturday night from Cleveland to attend to the injured. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC169_004
Subjects: Tornadoes--Ohio; Tornado damage; Natural disasters; Climate and Weather;
Places: Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photographic postcard depicting fallen power lines, damaged after a storm that struck Cleveland and northeastern Ohio in November 1913. The heavy snowfall was part of an early winter storm that was called the "Great Lakes Hurricane," "the Ultimate Storm" and "the Big Blow." 18 to 25 inches of snow fell in two days across northeastern Ohio, covering telephone, telegraph and electrical wires. In the photograph, the visible street sign reads "Stevenson Rd NE" and appears to be in Cleveland, most likely at the intersection of that street with St. Clair Avenue. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03881
Subjects: Natural disasters--United States; Blizzards; Winter; Snow
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio); Northeastern Ohio
 

Description: Picture postcard looking north on Broadway from 4th Street in Lorain, Ohio, following the devastating tornado of June 28, 1924. Businesses can be seen lining the street as residents work to clear rubble. The deadliest tornado in Ohio history struck Lorain and Sandusky on Saturday, June 28, 1924. This was not the largest or strongest tornado to occur in Ohio, but the violent storm struck an urban center where thousands of people were put at risk. There were 85 fatalities, 72 of which occurred in Lorain. The Lorain Tornado formed over Sandusky Bay and passed eastward, striking the northern edge of Sandusky at 4:35 PM. One hundred homes and 25 businesses were destroyed in the town, and there were eight deaths. The tornado continued over Lake Erie before coming ashore at the Lorain Municipal Bath House in Lakeview Park. Buildings were damaged for 35 blocks along Broadway and at least 200 automobiles were buried in bricks and other debris. More than 1,000 homes were damaged and 500 destroyed in Lorain. All downtown businesses sustained some damage. The death toll of 15 in the State Theater is the most ever killed by a tornado in one building in Ohio. Dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses arrived in Lorain Saturday night from Cleveland to attend to the injured. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC169_010
Subjects: Tornadoes--Ohio; Tornado damage; Natural disasters; Climate and Weather;
Places: Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photographic postcard depicting power line damage with men shoveling snow after a storm that struck Cleveland and northeastern Ohio in November 1913. The heavy snowfall was part of an early winter storm that was called "the Great Lakes Hurricane," "the Ultimate Storm" and "the Big Blow." 18 to 25 inches of snow fell in two days across northeastern Ohio, covering telephone, telegraph and electrical wires. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03882
Subjects: Natural disasters--United States; Blizzards; Winter; Snow
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio); Northeastern Ohio
 

Description: Picture postcard showing the ruins of the State Theater in Lorain, Ohio, following the devastating tornado of June 28, 1924. The caption reads "100 people killed. 'Sacrifice' was being played on the piano." Despite the figure on the postcard, there were 15 confirmed dead after the theater was crushed by a seven-story building next door which collapsed. The property would later be razed on June 30, 1924. The deadliest tornado in Ohio history struck Lorain and Sandusky on Saturday, June 28, 1924. This was not the largest or strongest tornado to occur in Ohio, but the violent storm struck an urban center where thousands of people were put at risk. There were 85 fatalities, 72 of which occurred in Lorain. The Lorain Tornado formed over Sandusky Bay and passed eastward, striking the northern edge of Sandusky at 4:35 PM. One hundred homes and 25 businesses were destroyed in the town, and there were eight deaths. The tornado continued over Lake Erie before coming ashore at the Lorain Municipal Bath House in Lakeview Park. Buildings were damaged for 35 blocks along Broadway and at least 200 automobiles were buried in bricks and other debris. More than 1,000 homes were damaged and 500 destroyed in Lorain. All downtown businesses sustained some damage. The death toll of 15 in the State Theater is the most ever killed by a tornado in one building in Ohio. Dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses arrived in Lorain Saturday night from Cleveland to attend to the injured. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC169_007
Subjects: Tornadoes--Ohio; Tornado damage; Natural disasters; Climate and Weather;
Places: Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Picture postcard showing a neighborhood at the corner of E Street and Delaware Avenue in Lorain, Ohio, following the devastating tornado of June 28, 1924. Residents move through the rubble of damaged and missing houses. The deadliest tornado in Ohio history struck Lorain and Sandusky on Saturday, June 28, 1924. This was not the largest or strongest tornado to occur in Ohio, but the violent storm struck an urban center where thousands of people were put at risk. There were 85 fatalities, 72 of which occurred in Lorain. The Lorain Tornado formed over Sandusky Bay and passed eastward, striking the northern edge of Sandusky at 4:35 PM. One hundred homes and 25 businesses were destroyed in the town, and there were eight deaths. The tornado continued over Lake Erie before coming ashore at the Lorain Municipal Bath House in Lakeview Park. Buildings were damaged for 35 blocks along Broadway and at least 200 automobiles were buried in bricks and other debris. More than 1,000 homes were damaged and 500 destroyed in Lorain. All downtown businesses sustained some damage. The death toll of 15 in the State Theater is the most ever killed by a tornado in one building in Ohio. Dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses arrived in Lorain Saturday night from Cleveland to attend to the injured. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC169_003
Subjects: Tornadoes--Ohio; Tornado damage; Natural disasters; Climate and Weather;
Places: Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)
 

Description: Picture postcard looking north on Broadway from Erie Avenue in Lorain, Ohio, following the devastating tornado of June 28, 1924. A ship can be seen in the harbor, as well as damaged businesses, cars and streetcars. The deadliest tornado in Ohio history struck Lorain and Sandusky on Saturday, June 28, 1924. This was not the largest or strongest tornado to occur in Ohio, but the violent storm struck an urban center where thousands of people were put at risk. There were 85 fatalities, 72 of which occurred in Lorain. The Lorain Tornado formed over Sandusky Bay and passed eastward, striking the northern edge of Sandusky at 4:35 PM. One hundred homes and 25 businesses were destroyed in the town, and there were eight deaths. The tornado continued over Lake Erie before coming ashore at the Lorain Municipal Bath House in Lakeview Park. Buildings were damaged for 35 blocks along Broadway and at least 200 automobiles were buried in bricks and other debris. More than 1,000 homes were damaged and 500 destroyed in Lorain. All downtown businesses sustained some damage. The death toll of 15 in the State Theater is the most ever killed by a tornado in one building in Ohio. Dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses arrived in Lorain Saturday night from Cleveland to attend to the injured. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC169_006
Subjects: Tornadoes--Ohio; Tornado damage; Natural disasters; Climate and Weather;
Places: Lorain (Ohio); Lorain County (Ohio)