Railroad damage from 1913 Flood photograph   Save
Columbus Citizen-Journal Photograph Collection
Description: Photograph showing destruction along the Pennsylvania Railroad line in Columbus, Ohio, during the 1913 Flood. Notes on the photograph read, "Break in levee costing many lives. #9. Col. O." and "The river cut a new channel under these tracks." In late March 1913, an unusually heavy rainstorm moved into Ohio. It rained steadily for five days and water levels all over Ohio rose rapidly. By the third day of the downpour, levees were overtopped and many towns, including Columbus, suffered disastrous flooding. The statewide extent of death and destruction in the Flood of 1913 exceeds all other weather events in Ohio history, justifying the title of “Ohio’s greatest weather disaster.” Rainfall over the state totaled 6-11 inches and no section was unaffected. The death toll was 467 and more than 40,000 homes were flooded. Approximately 100 died in Columbus when the Scioto River reached record levels and poured 9 to 17 feet deep through neighborhoods. Many Columbus residents escaped to the safety of rooftops and trees. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P339_B05F02_10_01
Subjects: Floods--Ohio--Columbus; Climate and Weather; Natural disasters; Scioto River (Ohio); Railroads
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)