Schenectady's worst flood (1914)

Date Range

1914-03/1914-04

Title

Schenectady's worst flood (1914)

What occurred

During 1914 Schenectady got 32 inches of wet snow in a span of 20 hours. Larry Hart ran a column reporting the flooding that occurred next. On march 24th the flood hit because of melting snow and heavy rainfall. Ice Jams formed on the river and destroyed bridges and flooded industrial areas. Onlookers described the ice slabs as twenty feet high and three feet thick. Workers were called home and had to get back to their houses on rowboats. Damages reached into the millions. However, most of the damages were to houses and local businesses and not the railroad or General Electric companies. There were a few deaths including two out of three workers trying to get cable over the Freemans Toll Bridge; as they hit submerged ice and two went under. Schenectady is prone to flooding due to the river and in recent years have experienced major flooding like during hurricane Irene. Since Schenectady's worst flood happened so long ago I wonder what another unlucky set of natural events would cause today.

Location

Schenectady, New York

Image Citation

http://gremsdoolittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2019/03/schenectadys-worst-flood.html

Student name(s)

Julien Evans