Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 was one of the most catastrophic flooding events in U.S. history, affecting multiple states along the river. Triggered by heavy rainfall after a period of drought and poor vegetation cover, the flood began in early January and quickly escalated. By mid-January, record rainfalls prompted flood warnings across six states, with the Ohio River reaching its highest recorded level in Cincinnati at nearly eighty feet. The flooding displaced tens of thousands of residents, with estimates indicating that nearly 50,000 people in Cincinnati alone became homeless. Significant areas, including over 70 percent of Louisville, Kentucky, were submerged.
The aftermath of the disaster was severe, with damages estimated between $500 million to $700 million, and a reported death toll of 385, though many believe the actual number was higher due to unaccounted missing persons. In response to the devastation, the federal government initiated extensive flood control measures, including the construction of dams and levees along the Ohio River and its tributaries. These efforts not only aimed to prevent future flooding but also created jobs and economic opportunities in the region. As a result, the Ohio River Valley did not experience significant flooding again for sixty years, highlighting the lasting impact of the 1937 flood on both the landscape and the communities it affected.
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Ohio River flood of 1937
The Event Natural deluge that devastated the Ohio River floodplain
Dates January 5 to early February, 1937
Places Ohio River Valley, which includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois
The Ohio River flows some fifteen hundred miles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois. Every city along the fifteen-hundred-mile stretch of the river experienced some form of flooding during the Ohio River flood of 1937, which was one of the deadliest and most costly natural disasters of the Great Depression era. Several cities were entirely engulfed by the overflowing banks of the Ohio River.
In late December of 1936 and early January of 1937, after years of dust storms resulting from drought and overfarming on the plains of the United States, rain fell on the snow-covered midwestern cities of Evansville, Paducah, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Huntington across several states. On January 5, 1937, water began to rise because of poor vegetation during the winter months, snow-covered streets, and chunks of ice adrift in the river. By the following week, flood warnings were posted across six states. By January 16, seventeen cities had already experienced record rainfalls, and by January 18, the flooding had begun. For many regions of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, rain fell for nineteen consecutive days, and by January 24, martial law was in order for many southern Indiana cities, including Evansville.
By January 26, 1937, Cincinnati had experienced record rainfall, and the Ohio River had breached its banks at nearly eighty feet, the highest-recorded water level in the city’s history, flooding the city. Cities such as Louisville, Kentucky, and Huntington, West Virginia, experienced similar situations on January 27. Some reports estimated more than 70 percent of Louisville was under water. In Cincinnati alone, estimates indicated nearly fifty thousand people were homeless. Areas north of Cincinnati, such as Wheeling, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, recorded levels twelve feet above flood stage.
By February 5, 1937, much of the water had begun to fall around the hardest hit areas of the Ohio River and damage totals and death tolls began to rise. Most areas along the banks of the Ohio had rain for twenty-three of the thirty-one days of January, and many cities were recovering from floodwaters more than thirty feet above flood stage. The aftermath of the flood brought even more devastating news. Many towns were completely destroyed, and damage totals were estimated to be between five hundred and seven hundred million dollars. The death toll for the storm was a reported 385 people; however, many historians estimate the count to be significantly higher because of the large homeless population at this time. Missing citizens were presumed dead, and many bodies were never discovered. In some cities, such as Louisville, it was estimated that more than 170,000 citizens were homeless or displaced.
Impact
The seriousness of the flood gained national attention, as the U.S. government vowed to control the flooding problems plaguing the areas along the Ohio River and its tributaries. Over the following decade, the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as many towns along the banks of the Ohio River, built flood and retaining walls along many low-lying areas of the river and created storage reservoirs and effective drainage for the cities. After the flood, the dam construction from Pennsylvania to Illinois increased, bringing a feeling of safety to the hardest hit areas as well as jobs and revenue for areas damaged from the flood and the years of the Great Depression. The residents of the Ohio River Valley did not experience flooding again for another sixty years.
Bibliography
Castro, James E. Great Ohio River Flood of 1937. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2009.
Kleber, J. The Encyclopedia of Louisville. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
Stradling, D. Cincinnati: From River City to Highway Metropolis. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2003.