Portsmouth 1937 flood, men search for refugees in flood   Save
New Deal
Description: Photo titled: "Search for Refugees in Flooded Portsmouth." The caption reads: "Pictured above are two policemen searching for refugees in the flooded city of Portsmouth, Ohio. Flood waters of the Ohio River topped the city's 60-foot wall and covered the low-lying business and residential districts. Many who had scoffed at the threat of flood found themselves imprisoned in the upper stories of their homes, deprived of heat and dangered by influenza. The photo is from the "Portsmouth, Ohio, flood of 1937", SC 381. This collection contains 37 photographic black and white prints, 21 x 26cm or smaller; and 4 postcards in black in white, 9 x 14 cm. Photographs document the flood damage in Portsmouth, including sandbagging, floodwall construction, and WPA rescue efforts. In 1937, southern Ohio faced one of the worst floods in its history, known today as the "Great Flood of 1937." The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February. In Cincinnati, the flood was particularly difficult for the city, where flood levels reached its crest of 79.99 feet on Tuesday, January 26, 1937. Communities along the Ohio River in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois also faced serious problems. Many people lost their homes as a result of the flood. The Ohio River Flood of 1937 caused more than twenty million dollars in damages. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc381_17_01
Subjects: Floods--Ohio River; Portsmouth (Ohio)--Flood, 1937
Places: Portsmouth (Ohio); Scioto County (Ohio)