Saint Patrick's Day Flood of March 1936 Part 2: Flood Impacts

This is Part 2 of my look at the Saint Patrick's Day Flood of March 1936. In Part 1 I detailed the meteorological setup that caused such historic flooding. You can read Part 1 here. In today's blog I will summarize the impacts that the flooding caused across Pennsylvania.

OHIO RIVER BASIN

Monongahela & Allegheny River Basins

Residents in Brookville feared a dam 5 miles north of town would break and a new recreation center was completely ruined. A mother and child drowned in Punxsutawney where parts of town were under 9 feet of water. In Clarion the Clarion River rose 6 feet in 12 hours. Landslides blocked highways around Ridgway. The weather observer in Ridgway noted that "On the night of the 17th our complete station was washed away by the flood."

Indiana was completely isolated with all roads to neighboring counties blocked. A dam failure near Rossiter submerged 200 homes and 5 people were killed. The Cokeville bridge near Blairsville was washed out. 3 rescuers were stuck in a tree along the Conemaugh River after their boat overturned while trying to rescue a family in their home along the river. 100 were rescued in Latrobe with the city half submerged. 5 bridges over the Kiskiminetas River were washed away.

A large brick building in Tarentum collapsed. One third of the town was underwater. The hospital here was overcrowded and a makeshift hospital was setup at the YMCA. 3,000 were homeless in Vandergrift, Apollo, and Leechburg. Receding water in one section where 100 homes had stood revealed bare foundations. A landslide in New Kensington closed a highway and crushed a house. Power plants in Clarion and Aspinwall were threatened by flood waters.

In Uniontown, water covered nearly every street in the Business District. 200-300 used boats to leave their homes there. 200 families were evacuated in Connellsville in what was described as the worst flood there since 1889. A stockpile of carbide exploded in McKeesport. A landslide was reported near Elco. Everson near Scottdale was hard hit with homes flooded and over 1,000 evacuated.

Johnstown

The weather observer in Johnstown reported that it was impossible to take the river measurement at 2pm on the 17th as the bridge was flooded. Water rose as much as 30 inches per hour. By the midday basements were filling with water and sewers were backing up. Residents and store owners worked to clear items from the street level of buildings. The statue of the city founder, Joseph John, in Central Park was tipped over.

Old timers said the water was within 3 feet of the flood in 1889. In Cambria City the water was higher than during the flood of 1889. 3 bridges along the Stony Creek and 2 along the Conemaugh River were washed away. As the water rose many had to be rescued by boat. In one instance many people escaped drowning by climbing a railroad trestle only to be burned to death when debris caught the structure on fire.

There was no gas, lights, telephone or telegraph in the city. Employees of the telephone company were stranded in the telephone office surrounded by water 15 feet deep. Equipment from the building was floating in the street. The closest working telephone that one reporter could find was 18 miles away in Ebensburg.

On the evening of the 17th rumors spread that the Quemahoning Dam 12 miles upstream of Johnstown had burst. Panic set in sending citizens running for the hillsides as they did in the 1889 flood. It was a false alarm. On the morning of the 18th the sun had come out but it didn't last as rain returned in the afternoon. Another false report of a dam failure once again sent citizens scrambling for higher ground.

There was little food and nearly every store was ruined. The city was in darkness for 2 nights. Those stranded in downtown did not eat for days. An estimated 15,000 were homeless. Over 2,000 people utilized the Inclined Plane built following the 1889 flood to reach higher ground in Westmont and Southmont. A makeshift hospital was setup in Westmont with 653 sick patients, 253 of which were children. 3 babies were born there.

2,000 troops were deployed to the city. They had to be brought in by truck because the railways were washed out. Likewise, a supply train from Pittsburgh was unable to reach the city due to flooded tracks. Additionally, state police officers and highway patrolmen were brought in and the mayor implemented a 9:00pm curfew. Slimy mud was ankle deep and homes were filled with mud & silt.

The Governor flew over the city on the 17th and visited the city on the 19th. Cold & snow hit Johnstown on the 20th which was concerning as disease was spreading. Vaccine shipments were rushed into Johnstown. A total of 24 people died in Johnstown from the flood. 3,000 buildings were seriously damaged with an estimated $41 million in damages.

Donations and supplies came in from surrounding communities. Firefighters from neighboring communities also assisted with pumping water from basements. In addition to many shelters, the Red Cross set up first-aid stations and even coal distributions sites where families could acquire coal to heat their homes. President Roosevelt had set up the Works Progress Administration as a part of his New Deal. 7,000 WPA workers arrived in the city and helped in cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

President Roosevelt visited the city in August 1936, promising to $315 million towards flood control projects in the city. Once the river channel system and river wall construction was complete it was declared that Johnstown was 'flood free.' While Johnstown was spared from the flood from Agnes in 1972, the flood of July 20, 1977, was proof that Johnstown was not 'flood free.'

Pittsburgh

For the first time in 23 years that streets of Pittsburgh flooded. Some streets were covered in 20 feet of water. The river crested at 46.0 feet at 8:20pm on the 18th and began to receded around midnight. A reporter on a boat in downtown noted that a high water mark from the flood of record (1907) was not visible. The Western Penitentiary was surrounded by 30 feet of water. As many as 100,000 out of the 2 million people in Allegheny County fled their homes.

On the 18th Weather Bureau observer W. S. Brotzman forecasted crest of 37 feet. The record was 38.5 feet and many never thought the river would ever rise above 40 feet. The record from 1763 of 44.1 feet was not accepted by the Weather Bureau. The Weather Bureau was flooded not by water but with phone calls. Over 2,000 calls came in on the 17th in a 9 hour period with an additional 7,000+ calls on the 18th before the telephone line went down around 2:30pm. All instruments in the office were down. With no communication with observers upstream forecasters were unable to foresee the unprecedented rise coming.

Power was out in virtually every part of the city and there was no heat. Elevators were inoperable with the power outages. Water was up to the second floor of the Roosevelt Hotel where 700 were stranded. Hotel employees made kindling from chopped up banquet tables so they could make coffee. Debris crashed through windows downtown. Trolley service was suspended and commuters were stranded in train stations.

Fifth Avenue and Market Street (Market Square), March 18, 1936. Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs, Detre Library & Archives at the History Center. Source.

Telephone and teletype lines were down making it hard to get important information in or out. KDKA was the only active radio transmitter. Home radios were useless with no power but the AM frequency was able to transmit details of the disaster to the country. News reporters walked miles to report on the events. City newspapers turned to newspaper printers in neighboring counties to get copies printed.

The mayor called for a special meeting of city council which authorized 1 million dollars for flood relief and the hiring of 100 policemen and 100 firemen. Members of the Duquesne University Football team helped guard downtown buildings from looting. Officials shut down bridges around downtown to help keep looters out. 5,000 Red Cross workers assisted with relief efforts. The Edgar Thompson steel plant had blankets and cots for the Red Cross to use but the location they were stored was surrounded by floodwater.

Factories and mills along the rivers were closed. 40 girls had to be rescued from a riverside factory. 60,000 steel workers were out of work. The sky was described as clear over Pittsburgh, a rarity as the pollutants would typically spew from the smokestacks 24/7. Steel mills in Donora that were protected by flood walls and were still operating. The governor ordered a temporary ban on the sales of liquor across the state. With many off work, bars were reportedly packed in Pittsburgh.

As of the 19th the clean water supply in Pittsburgh was expected to last 2 days. The South Hills had already run out of water on the 18th. Newspapers on the 20th warned of the rapidly depleting water levels that would likely be gone by noon. It was expected that pumps would not be restored until the 21st at the earliest. Trucks were sent to Lisbon, Ohio, to bring back water for hospitals. It was reported that water service was fully restored on the 23rd but it was uncertain that it would last.

Flood waters rising in Pittsburgh, PA. Source.

500 carloads of fruits and vegetables were ruined in the flood waters. People stocked up on food as shortages were feared. Shipments quickly resumed on the 19th. Hospitals were crowded as pneumonia spread. Hospitals had heat and were prioritized for other essential amenities. Officials considered quarantining sections of the city. A baby was born at a shelter in a church in Sharpsburg.

A number of explosions rocked Pittsburgh and in each case the response from firefighters were hampered due to the flood waters. A rail car filled with gasoline blew up in a railyard under the Liberty Bridge. Flames took out 4 businesses, a city building, 2 dwellings, and 2 automobiles. A tragic explosion at the Etna Forge and Bolt Company in Etna claimed the lives of 7 people including 4 children from one family as the fire spread to nearby homes. The victims could not escape their homes that were surrounded by floodwater.

In another explosion at Waverly Oil Company in Lawrenceville, 25 vats of oil each containing 50,000 barrels of oil exploded nearly simultaneously. This fire started on Wednesday and was still burning on Friday. 7 firefighters were injured as they fought the fire in the flood water. A gas station in the North Side also exploded. Additionally, there was a warehouse fire on the North Shore on 17th.

Many vantage points from bridges and Mount Washington were full of spectators. Many traffic jams were caused by gawkers. False reports of a collapsed bridge also created a traffic jam in downtown. Drug stores reported selling plenty of film as many wanted to capture the historic event. Due to the gas shortage workers from the South Hills walked through the Liberty Tunnels to downtown to get to work.

Ohio River below Pittsburgh

One of the hardest hit locations was a low lying area of McKees Rocks known as the 'Bottoms' where 800 families were stranded. Between 5,000 and 7,000 people were rescued from their homes. A large number of refugees, mostly children, were stricken with scarlet fever, whooping cough, and other disease.

The waters in McKees Rocks reeked of gasoline. A fear of fire resulted in orders to refrain from smoking and those fears were realized with seven gasoline trucks exploded. The Ohio River was twice as wide as normal at the McKees Rocks Bridge. It was feared that the Emsworth Dam on the Ohio River below Pittsburgh was in danger of breaking. The dam had been damaged by the ice jams and 20,000 sandbags were used to strengthen the structure.

The flood was the worst on record in Beaver County. Water there rose 8" an hour. The weather observer in Coraopolis noted "Records from March 15 to 23 lost in flood." Water surrounded every home in Ambridge and Sewickley. Over 16,000 structures in the County were in flooded areas with over 8,000 of those in Pittsburgh. A pilot who flew over damage noted that a church steeple in Rochester was visible but on the following day only the cross was visible.

SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN

West Branch

In Clearfield the weather observer wrote a long letter to the Weather Bureau in Pittsburgh detailing the flood. They described the flood as the highest flood of which there is any record by 22" cresting at 5AM on the 18th. The river observer had to wade through 2 feet of water to get to the gage at 7:30pm on the 17th. Around this same time telephones and telegraphs stopped working and were out for 2 days. People were stuck on the second floor of homes and rooftops.

Cold Stream Dam in Philipsburg burst. Downstream, one bridge was swept away and 80 families were rescued. One person drowned at McCoy's Dam near Bellefonte while trying to open flood gates. The Bald Eagle Creek here was higher than in 1889.

While State College did not receive direct flood damage, power was out to the town. The Penn State power plant was able to supply power to the town. The supply of coal was expected to last for 2 weeks and the estimate of rail service restoration for the next coal delivery was estimated at 2 weeks. Community members collected relief supplies that filled 6 trucks that were sent out to nearby communities including hard hit Lock Haven.

Renovo was heavily damaged and isolated. In Lock Haven many in downtown were trapped as water levels rose rapidly. Two died after their boat capsized in Jersey Shore.

While Williamsport got hit hard the impacts were limited as severe flooding was anticipated. 3,000 were evacuated from the city ahead of the flooding and others stocked up with supplies. Power remained on for most of the city. The weather observer here noted that the city was underwater until the 20th with railroads and roads partially washed out and bridges damaged.

Parts of the city 1 mile from the river were flooded. The hospital was overwhelmed with over 200 patients but no one was turned away. A dentist traveled by boat to save expensive equipment at his office. Some buildings in South Williamsport were washed from their foundations. 2 babies were delivered at a makeshift hospital.

The governor flew over Williamsport saying that it looked just as bad as Johnstown. The governor also noted 2 fires were smoldering, one of which destroyed a section of downtown. The water supply was not impacted and although thousands were homeless, the recovery was relatively quick.

The bridge over the Susquehanna was severely damaged in Montgomery and a gas station was washed away. A quarter long dike in Milton failed flooding nearly the entire city with 8 feet of water. The water crested 20 inches higher than 1889 here leaving 300 homeless. From Montgomery to Lewisburg, the river crested more than 14 feet above flood stage.

North Branch

While water levels along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River reached well above flood stage, the flood was not as extreme. Many floods since have surpassed the levels from 1936. The weather observer in Towanda noted that "March 1936 will be remembered as the month with two floods- Highest flood stage ever recorded, 25.03' March 19th. 4.90" of rain in 6 days."

The river crested 11 feet above flood stage in Wilkes Barre, just shy of the record set in 1865. One person here witnessed hungry residents fishing apples and bananas out of the flood water as the fruit floated by their homes. 8 to 10 feet of water filled Kingston. Sidewalks and pavement were washed out in Wilkes Barre with a foot of mud and silt covering lawns. In Pittston and Duryea the Lackawanna River flooded the mines and 7,000 were out of work for some time. Government aid supplied $600,000 to pump the water out. 14,000 were homeless in the area with an estimated 25 million dollars in damage.

Juniata River

The flood was described as the worst history in Blair County. Only 1 road was open out of Altoona. No trains were running and few telephone lines were working. The southern portions of the city were hardest hit. Mill Run overflowed with 5 to 8 feet of water covering Mansion Park. Boats were used to rescue people from the second story of homes in Lakemont. Snow plows were used to clear debris.

Tyrone where at least 7 bridges were washed away in Tyrone. Water was 4 to 12 feet deep. 500 families in Tyrone were receiving aid. 500 were evacuated from Frankstown, some of which were rescued off of roofs. Residents feared that reservoirs above Altoona and Bellwood would fail. The weather observer in Bakers Summit noted that the flooding was higher than on May 31, 1889.

3 people drowned in Petersburg. Weather observations from Huntingdon include a note that serious flooding occurred on the 17th and 18th with roads damaged and bridges out. Between Ardenheim and Mill Creek only 9 houses remained out of a total of 108. Houses and bridges were washed away in Mount Union where the crest was 10 inches higher than 1889.

Water of up to 5 feet flooded Lewistown with gas & electric out. The river crested just inches below the record set in 1889. The crest of 43.0 feet was 30 feet above flood stage. The railroad placed train cars on the bridge over the river in Lewistown to keep if from floating away. The bridge survived.

All but 3 buildings were washed away in a 2.5 mile stretch between Amity Hall and Clarks Ferry. Water rose 12 feet here, much higher than during the ice jams earlier in the month.

Main Branch: Sunbury, Harrisburg

When the flood submerged Cameron Park in Sunbury under 2 feet of water, residents knew the flood was bad. 6 to 12 feet of water flooded the city with some sources stating the water was up to 20 feet deep in spots. Houses and businesses were severely damaged and there was no heat. Guards prevented looting at the liquor store.

1,700 victims were evacuated as soon as water levels lowered to the point roads and train tracks were passible. Many didn't want to leave but conditions were unsafe. Measles and scarlet fever were spreading and residents feared a food shortage. 150 people were quarantined. Sunbury is thankful for the flood wall today. Since the 1936 flood, the river has crested higher 11 times.

View of flooding at the Walnut Street Bridge in Harrisburg looking from Washington Heights. Source.

The Susquehanna River in Harrisburg was said to be at the highest level in 70 years. The main branch of the river rose and fell much slower compared to on the tributaries. Crest occurred at 30.33 feet on the 19th with the water remaining high until the 21st, delaying cleanup. While bridges were not damaged, water submerged the roads leading to the spans. Rail service and communication were both disrupted.

The steam plant that provided heat to to Harrisburg including the Capitol building was shut off. Approximately 2,800 buildings were flooded in the city with depths up to 15 feet deep. The city pumping station on City Island was flooded. Reservoirs had a 6 day supply of water and trucks brought clean water to the city for weeks after the flood.

High water impacted the Holtwood Dam with damage to the deflection wall. This damaged 4 transformers, shutting down the electric transmission for some time.

Wrapping Up

With conflicting number on the number of deaths, the death toll for the state was certainly over 100. 67 were killed in Pittsburgh and 24 in Johnstown. Total damage for the state was estimated $300 million which would equate to over $7 billion today.

While I focused on the hardest hit areas in the Ohio and Susquehanna River Basins, flooding also occurred in the Delaware and Potomac River Basins. Easton was also hard hit with the highest water since 1903. Most of the low sections of the city were underwater. The weather observer in Chambersburg noted that the snow melted with no flooding or damage but streams did overflow into low fields and were running high for 3 weeks.

Before beginning research for this event I expected few sources for information. I was wrong. The event was well documented and I was overwhelmed, though finding information for some cities was harder than others. Also, the recent outage of newspaperarchive.com made the task more challenging. I hope to continuing my research of this event and will likely update this blog post in the future.

There is so much more that could not fit in here and I did not even use all the sources that I came across. Make sure to check out the sources below if you would like to learn more about this event.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to always look up!

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