Pittsburgh flood of 1936
Left-aligned text
There have been more than 20 floods in the city of Pittsburgh since its establishment in 1758. Pittsburgh is situated between two rivers, the Allegheny and the Monongahela, which form the Ohio River at Point State Park. Flood stage at Point State Park, or the Point, is considered to be 25 feet. On March 17 and 18, 1936 the city witnessed the worst of any flood in its history when flood levels peaked at 46 feet. This flood became known as “The Great St. Patrick’s Day Flood.”
Left-aligned text
Civic organizations in the city, with financial backing from the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the Chamber of Commerce had been asking the Federal Government for help with flood control for almost thirty years. They had formed committees to lobby government officials and found themselves caught in political processes that ultimately resulted in the city and its residents sustaining devastating damage. In August 1935, the House of Representatives passed a bill for nine flood control reservoirs to be built above Pittsburgh. However, while the Senate debated this bill, the tremendous 1936 flood occurred. The Congress did not actually appropriate any funds for the project until the 1937 flood which threatened, but spared the city and went on to devastate the Ohio River Valley.
Left-aligned text
On March 16, 1936 warmer than normal temperatures led to the melting of snow and ice on the upper Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. These rivers and their tributaries were already over their banks and were threatening the city of Pittsburgh. On March 17, 1936 the waters reached flood stage of 25 feet. Heavy rains overnight caused the waters to rise quickly and on March 18 the water peaked at about at 46 feet, 21 feet above flood stage. Five days later, the water finally receded to 24 feet on March 21, 1936.
Left-aligned text
The aftermath to the city was devastating. About 100,000 buildings were destroyed and the damage was estimated at about 250 million 1936 dollars (or, roughly, $3 billion 2006 dollars). Steel mills that were located around the three rivers suffered devastating damage and 60,000 steel workers within a thirty mile radius were out of work due to the damage that the mills suffered. Sixty five percent of the downtown business district had been under water from the Point all the way up to Grant Street.
Left-aligned text
Electric power failed on March 17th and full electric service was not restored for eight days. Interestingly enough KDKA radio was able to broadcast without interruption throughout the flood but Pittsburghers were unable to listen because they did not have electricity to run their radios.
Left-aligned text
The contamination of the water supply led Pittsburgh residents to be told to boil water for fear of a typhoid epidemic. This fear was never realized, whether it was from the boiling of water or just luck is unknown. The death toll was hard to determine due to reports including the surrounding area, but the closest that can be deduced is about 69 deaths in the city and 500 injured.
Left-aligned text
There was no train service because the railroad tracks that ran along the three rivers were blocked or washed away by the flood. Trolleys were also affected by the power loss and some were abandoned where they were when power was lost. Roads around the rivers were washed away or buckled and there was a gasoline shortage due to the fact that there was no electric to run the pumps.
Left-aligned text
Relief workers consisted of police, firemen and the National Guard, who secured the city and protected public safety. The absence of electric caused the pumps at the water intake facility to fail, and left fire companies unable to fight fires that had been burning for days because of the lack of water pressure in the fire hydrants. The Red Cross provided food, clothing and medical supplies, while the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps rescued people from flooded houses and assisted in the clean up after waters receded.
Left-aligned text
Pittsburgh has seen other floods since the Saint Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936, but no other has come close to matching its destruction and levels. The construction of the nine flood control reservoirs in the late 1930’s and 1940’s proved their value in 1972 when Tropical Storm Agnes caused waters to reach a flood stage of 35.8 feet. This flood caused millions of dollars in damage and could have been worse than the 1936 flood if not for the flood controls up river. The government learned that history can indeed affect the future by making a safer home for the city of Pittsburgh.
Bibliography:
Burns, Daniel. Pittsburgh’s Rivers. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.
Flaherty, Mildred. The Great Saint Patrick’s Day Flood. Pittsburgh: The Local History Company, 2004.
Ohler, Samuel. PittsburGraphics. Pittsburgh: S. R. Ohler, 1983.
Smith, Roland. “The Politics of Pittsburgh Flood Control, 1908-1936.” Pennsylvania History, 42 (1975) : 5-24, http://cip.cornell.edu/DPubS/UI/1.0/Journal?authority=psu.ph&issue=1134157015. (accessed September 26, 2006).