It's Impossible To Forget These Two Terrible Floods That Went Down In Cincinnati History
By Andrea Limke|Published February 24, 2018
×
Andrea Limke
Author
A Cincinnati native who has lived in Kentucky for over 10 years, Andrea's heart belongs both in the Queen City and the Bluegrass State. After earning an education degree and working in that field for a number of years, Andrea began to pursue her passion for writing over 6 years ago. Since then she has written for a number of print and online publications, as well as published a children's book.
Some form of flooding is fairly common in Cincinnati this time of year, but there have been years when the mighty Ohio River has reached devastating levels. As the river rises this year and floods the riverfront parks, businesses, and homes, it’s impossible to forget those times when the water just kept coming. Two of the most terrible floods Cincinnati has seen took place in 1937 and then 60 years later in 1997. The photos and videos from these years are eye opening and take you back to those frightening scenes. Take a trip back to those two floods with these photos, and make sure to check out the videos at the end that put you right in the rising waters in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati has seen its fair share of flooding, and as the water rises this year, it seems that 2018 may go down in history as a memorable year.
Those with homes and businesses standing in the path of the water have started moving to higher ground and many road closures are taking place all over the city. As incredible as the scenes from this year's flooding are, there are two times in Cincinnati's history where the flooded Ohio River overwhelmed the city.
Advertisement
January of 1937 is on record as the wettest month in Cincinnati history. Due to this epic amount of rain, the Ohio River reached its peak on January 26th at 79.9 feet. The photos that follow show you the devastation the city experienced in late January and February of 1937.
In this photo, you can see how widespread the damage was as these high waters completely flooded Northside and surrounding areas.
Photo Courtesy of Dan Henry and the Collection of Phil Lind
The flood waters reached into downtown, as well.
Photo Courtesy of Joe Macaluso
If you think about our riverfront today, you can only imagine all of the places that would be completely inundated with water if the river rose to this level again.
100,000 people in Cincinnati were left homeless and countless houses, buildings, and structures were destroyed and damaged.
Scenes of boats floating through downtown were common, and many residents had to be rescued from their second story windows.
Photo Courtesy of Joe Macaluso
To get a feel for how deep the water was, the rectangular shapes in the photo above are railway boxcars, nearly submerged. For another amazing firsthand look at this historic flood, make sure to check out the rare home video below.
Sixty years later, in 1997, the river again reached record levels, cresting at 64.48 feet on March 5th.
Vice President Al Gore came to visit and during a press conference, both he and Mayor Roxanne Qualls were shown standing at Third and Walnut, with the flood waters splashing their feet. You can relive the 1997 flood from the sky in the video below.
As damaging as these flood waters are and the dangers they possess, it is still fascinating to see these images and recall memories from these monumental events.
As the rain continues to fall in Cincinnati, we hope 2018 is not added to this list of immensely destructive floods. All we can do is wait and see as the muddy Ohio River continues to rise.
This aerial footage of the 1997 flood shows just how devastating the submerged city really was:
For a look at the overwhelming flood of 1937, check out this rare home movie footage documenting the disaster:
While terrifying to think that the river could reach record-breaking levels again, we look back at these moments in awe, knowing that the city was able to recover and rebuild and would certainly do so again, if ever necessary. Do you have memories of these incredible floods in Cincinnati? Any other photos to share? We’d love to hear about your memories in the comments.
If you missed our recent article about the church in Cincinnati that has survived more than 60 floods, including these two, check it out here.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
