B3 - N Sherman St York 1972 Flood.
I was just a little guy when this happened. I remember going to HerPak Meats, (Cameron St), Dad parked in the upper lot of Acme Markets (Hbg River Rescue Quarters) and they set up cattle chutes across Cameron and herded the live stock to the Acme building.
Formed: June 14, 1972 | Dissipated: June 23, 1972.
Agnes developed on June 14 from the interaction of a polar front and an upper trough over the Yucatán Peninsula. Agnes began its long life as an extratropical cyclone once cold air invaded its circulation late on June 22. The system looped across south-central Pennsylvania on June 23 and then looped across southern Ontario on June 25. Due to the significant effects, the name Agnes was retired in the spring of 1973.
In Pennsylvania, heavy rainfall was reported, with much of the state experiencing more than 7 inches of precipitation. Furthermore, a large swath of rainfall exceeding 10 inches was reported in the central part of the state. Overall, the rains peaked at 19 inches in the western portions of Schuylkill County. Due to the significant effects, the name Agnes was retired in the spring of 1973. Overall, more than 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes due to flooding. Some buildings were under 13 feet of water in Harrisburg. At the Governor's Mansion, the first floor was submerged by flood waters. Hundreds were trapped in their homes in Wilkes-Barre due to the overflowing Susquehanna River. At the historic cemetery in Forty Fort, 2,000 caskets were washed away, leaving body parts on porches, roofs, and in basements. In Luzerne County alone, 25,000 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed. Losses in that county totaled to $1 billion. At Chadds Ford Township, the Brandywine Creek crested at 16.5 feet, sending flood waters into the city. Water poured into the first floor of an art museum in Chadds Ford Township, which threatened at least $2.5 million in N.C. Wyeth paintings, though they were quickly moved to the upper floors. Along the Allegheny River, it was above flood stage in some low-lying areas. During the height of the storm, the river was rising at about 7 inches per hour. In Reading, the Schuylkill River reached a record flood of 31.5 feet.
More than one hundred Harrisburg YMCA campers and staff were evacuated using two CH-47 Chinook helicopters flown by the National Guard at Camp Shikellimy located downstream of DeHart Dam in Middle Paxton Township. Additionally, 36 Girl Scouts were rescued by state police while at a camp in York. A bridge collapsed in Danville, which caused two diesel locomotives and several freight cars to fall into a swollen creek. In the state of Pennsylvania, more than 68,000 homes and 3,000 businesses were destroyed. Due to the destroyed houses, at least 220,000 people were left homeless.The damage and death toll was the highest in Pennsylvania, with 50 fatalities and $2.3 billion in losses in that state alone. Willow Mill Amusement Park in Mechanicsburg was also damaged, including the Red Streaker, a defunct junior small wooden rollercoaster, which was severely damaged and had to be rebuilt.
On June 26, 1972, three news correspondents were killed in a helicopter crash in Harrisburg, where they had been covering the flooding. The victims were Del Vaughn of CBS News and Sid Brenner and Louis Clark of WCAU in Philadelphia, and the pilot, Mike Sedio. The helicopter lost its rotor some three hundred feet above the Capital City Airport, crashed, and exploded on the runway.
Following the storm, then-President of the United States Richard Nixon declared the states of Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York as disaster areas. Agnes had a devastating impact on the already-bankrupt railroads in the northeastern United States, as lines were washed out and shipments were delayed:
The Erie Lackawanna Railway (EL) estimated that damage between Binghamton and Salamanca, New York, amounted to $2 million. EL filed for Chapter 77 bankruptcy.
The Penn Central Railroad sustained nearly $20 million in damages
The resulting cost of repairing the damage was one of the factors leading to the creation of the federally financed Conrail.
Most pictures are photo's I took of pictures from collectors books from the 1972 flood.
B3 - N Sherman St York 1972 Flood.
I was just a little guy when this happened. I remember going to HerPak Meats, (Cameron St), Dad parked in the upper lot of Acme Markets (Hbg River Rescue Quarters) and they set up cattle chutes across Cameron and herded the live stock to the Acme building.
Formed: June 14, 1972 | Dissipated: June 23, 1972.
Agnes developed on June 14 from the interaction of a polar front and an upper trough over the Yucatán Peninsula. Agnes began its long life as an extratropical cyclone once cold air invaded its circulation late on June 22. The system looped across south-central Pennsylvania on June 23 and then looped across southern Ontario on June 25. Due to the significant effects, the name Agnes was retired in the spring of 1973.
In Pennsylvania, heavy rainfall was reported, with much of the state experiencing more than 7 inches of precipitation. Furthermore, a large swath of rainfall exceeding 10 inches was reported in the central part of the state. Overall, the rains peaked at 19 inches in the western portions of Schuylkill County. Due to the significant effects, the name Agnes was retired in the spring of 1973. Overall, more than 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes due to flooding. Some buildings were under 13 feet of water in Harrisburg. At the Governor's Mansion, the first floor was submerged by flood waters. Hundreds were trapped in their homes in Wilkes-Barre due to the overflowing Susquehanna River. At the historic cemetery in Forty Fort, 2,000 caskets were washed away, leaving body parts on porches, roofs, and in basements. In Luzerne County alone, 25,000 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed. Losses in that county totaled to $1 billion. At Chadds Ford Township, the Brandywine Creek crested at 16.5 feet, sending flood waters into the city. Water poured into the first floor of an art museum in Chadds Ford Township, which threatened at least $2.5 million in N.C. Wyeth paintings, though they were quickly moved to the upper floors. Along the Allegheny River, it was above flood stage in some low-lying areas. During the height of the storm, the river was rising at about 7 inches per hour. In Reading, the Schuylkill River reached a record flood of 31.5 feet.
More than one hundred Harrisburg YMCA campers and staff were evacuated using two CH-47 Chinook helicopters flown by the National Guard at Camp Shikellimy located downstream of DeHart Dam in Middle Paxton Township. Additionally, 36 Girl Scouts were rescued by state police while at a camp in York. A bridge collapsed in Danville, which caused two diesel locomotives and several freight cars to fall into a swollen creek. In the state of Pennsylvania, more than 68,000 homes and 3,000 businesses were destroyed. Due to the destroyed houses, at least 220,000 people were left homeless.The damage and death toll was the highest in Pennsylvania, with 50 fatalities and $2.3 billion in losses in that state alone. Willow Mill Amusement Park in Mechanicsburg was also damaged, including the Red Streaker, a defunct junior small wooden rollercoaster, which was severely damaged and had to be rebuilt.
On June 26, 1972, three news correspondents were killed in a helicopter crash in Harrisburg, where they had been covering the flooding. The victims were Del Vaughn of CBS News and Sid Brenner and Louis Clark of WCAU in Philadelphia, and the pilot, Mike Sedio. The helicopter lost its rotor some three hundred feet above the Capital City Airport, crashed, and exploded on the runway.
Following the storm, then-President of the United States Richard Nixon declared the states of Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York as disaster areas. Agnes had a devastating impact on the already-bankrupt railroads in the northeastern United States, as lines were washed out and shipments were delayed:
The Erie Lackawanna Railway (EL) estimated that damage between Binghamton and Salamanca, New York, amounted to $2 million. EL filed for Chapter 77 bankruptcy.
The Penn Central Railroad sustained nearly $20 million in damages
The resulting cost of repairing the damage was one of the factors leading to the creation of the federally financed Conrail.
Most pictures are photo's I took of pictures from collectors books from the 1972 flood.