1955 – Feb 26-March 6, heavy rains, Ohio River basin flooding, esp. KY, OH, IN, WV– 15

–15 EDS, NOAA. Climatological Data National Summary. V.22, N.13, Annual 1971, p.792.

Kentucky (9)
–9 Blanchard tally of fatalities from locality breakouts below.
–7 Logansport Pharos Tribune, IN. “Four States Fight Floods.” 3-2-1955, p. 1.
–2 Big Goose Creek, Feb 27. Drownings; car goes off Big Goose Creek Rd. into flooded creek.
–4 Brandenburg area(6 mls W), March 4. 3 sisters and brother drown on way home from school.
–1 Frankfort. Drowning; Clyde Hodges, ~50, slipped into deep water wading to a houseboat.
–2 West Liberty area. Drownings; two boys on a horse crying to cross rain-swollen creek.

Ohio (1)
–1 Cincinnati March 9. Drowning; trapped in elevator that went into water; Trenton Harton Jr. 27.

West Virginia (2)
–2 Associated Press. “Logan Flood Toll: 2.” Raleigh Register, Beckley, WV. 3-3-1955, p. 1.
–1 Huff Creek, Vance’s Bottom, Logan County. Huba Vance; may have been suicide, not clear.
–1 Mud Fork Junction, Trace Fork of Island Creek; body Johnny Glenn, 56, recovered.

Narrative Information

EDS, NOAA: “March 1955…Ohio Basin…15 [lives lost)…$14,396 [property loss].” (Environmental Data Service, NOAA. “Losses in Individual Severe Floods in the United States since July 1902.” Climatological Data National Summary (Annual) Vol. 22. N. 13, 1971, p. 792.)

US Geological Survey: “Floods of February 27 to March 7 in Kentucky and West Virginia:

“Flooding en eastern Kentucky, western West Virginia, and the headwaters of Levisa Fork in Virginia…was caused by heavy general rains which fell from February 26 to March 6 in the basins of the Kanawha, Guyandot [Guyandotte], and Big Sandy Rivers, and in the headwaters of the Licking River. Precipitation was heaviest in the Big Sandy River basin.

“Two storms occurred during the flood period. The first storm, February 26 to March 1, produced an average of about 4 inches of precipitation in the Big Sandy River basin. Precipitation was less during the second storm period, March 4.6….

“In the Big Sandy River basin maximum discharges occurred in Johns Creek at Meta, Ky., Panther Creek near Panther, W. Va., and Big Sandy River at Louisa, Ky. At Louisa the stage of 52.61 feet at a former site and datum was about 4 feet higher than any since at least 1908. Stages at stations on Levisa Fork approached but did not exceed previous maxima. At many stations in the Kanawha and Guyandot River basins the peak discharges during the flood exceeded or almost equaled the previous maximum discharges during the period of gaging-station operation.

“Several lives were lost in Kentucky, and flooding rendered many highways impassable in eastern Kentucky and southwestern West Virginia. The Weather Bureau reported damage in the flood area to be many millions of dollars.” (Geological Survey. Summary of Floods in the United States During 1955. (Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1455-B). “Floods of February 27 to March 7 in Kentucky and West Virginia.” 1962, pp. 74-76.)

Newspapers

Feb 28, Evening News, Jefferson IN: “The rain-swollen Ohio River, fed by bank-full tributaries, continued to rise today. The Weather Bureau at Louisville reported that a 1.68-inch rainfall during the past 48 hours has boosted the river level. Rains have been heavy throughout the Ohio Valley and the rise has been rapid. A total of 1.34-inches of rain fell last weekend. The Bureau reported the river had risen five feet in a 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. today. At noon today, it had risen .6 of a foot more. A crest of 52.5 feet is predicted for Thursday, but with more rain expected, the Bureau is on the alert for a sudden rise. Fifth-five feet is flood stage. At noon, the river was reported at 5.2 feet below flood stage on the lower gauge at Dam 41. A 26.5 reading was reported on the upper gauge.

“Creeks and brooks in this area are all full and some have spilled over their banks, it was reported. The underpass at the railroad viaduct near the intersection of U.S. 31-E and Ind. 60 was reported under water. Logs, brush and debris in large quantities were being swept along on the crest of the muddy Ohio today, as upriver sections also experienced the sharp rise in the river level. Some alarm was expressed here that the river may hit flood stage. In southern Indiana, the State Highway Department reported that three secondary roads in Jackson County were closed because of high water….” (Evening News, Jefferson, IN. “Ohio River Continues To Rise; 52.5 Foot Crest Expected Thursday.” 2-28-1955, p. 1.)

March 1, Charleston Daily Mail: “Water-logged Logan today [Logan County] grimly watched receding waters of flood-swollen Guyan [Guyandotte] River that inundated low-lying sections along a 40-mile front through three counties. Three persons remained missing in the isolated community while searchers scraped along the banks of Huff Creek for the body of a 43-year-old man who reportedly tore off his clothes yesterday afternoon and plunged into its muddy waters. More than 200 persons joined in the search for Huba Vance, an unmarried farmer, who had been vistiting at the home of his sister Mr. Earl Rice at Vance’s Bottom….” (Charleston Daily Mail. “Logan’s Flood Receding; 4 May Have Lost Lives.” 3-1-1955, p. 1.)

March 2, Logansport Pharos Tribune, IN: “Floods from rain and melting snow spread over parts of four states today, and claimed seven lives in Kentucky….four Sunday [Feb 27] and three Monday [Feb 28]. Portions of Indiana and Ohio were hit by high waters. They hit hardest at West Virginia, where flood waters were receding after driving 300 persons from their homes and temporarily isolating the town of Logan. It was reported earlier that a body had been found in the Logan flood waters, but the sheriff’s office said today the death had not been confirmed.

“The eastern floods followed days of steady rains and unseasonably mild temperatures. Rivers were still rising in Ohio and Pennsylvania, although serious damage was not expected. The Ohio River was expected to reach a flood stage of 52 feet at Cincinnati, Ohio, and keep on rising. The river spilled into lowland around Marietta, flooding a church basement and collapsing the foundations of a home….

“At Pittsburgh, the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers were expected to crest at 23 feet…The two rivers meet at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River, which was expected to crest later today….” (Logansport Pharos Tribune, IN. “Four States Fight Floods. Seven Persons Reported Drowned in Kentucky; Three Hundred Persons Evacuated.” 3-2-1955, p. 1.)

March 3, AP: “Logan (AP) – The known death toll from the floods in Logan County earlier this week rose to two today with the recovery of the body of Johnny Glenn, 56-year-old unmarried and unemployed coal miner. Deputy Sheriff Leo Barnett said Glenn had not been reported missing, and that his body was discovered after the water subsided at Mud Fork Junction, on Trace Fork of Island Creek. Burnett said Glenn was last reported seen at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Cora, after rivers and creeks of the area were receding from crests reached the previous night. Searchers found the body of Huda Vance, 47-year-old farmer, in the Guyan river yesterday afternoon. Vance jumped or fell into Huff’s Creek late Monday, some five miles upstream….” (Associated Press. “Death Toll 2 In Logan Co. Flood Wake.” Charleston Daily Mail, WV. 3-3-1955, p. 12.)

March 5, AP: “Brandenburg, Ky., March 5. (AP) – Three sisters and a brother, en route from school to their home, were drowned late Friday in a small creek swollen to a small creek swollen to a raging torrent by hail and heavy rains. Sheriff Allen Thompson said the children – ranging in age from seven to 13 – had left a school bus to walk the mile to their home along a gravel road that led through the farm of Charlie Smith. They apparently started running when the storm struck and, arriving at what usually is a calm wet-weather stream, they plunged into it without realizing its depth and ferocity. The rampaging waters swept them off their feet, they were rolled down about a five or six-foot cliff and then tumbled until their bodies caught on rocks or tree branches.

“The sheriff identified the victims as Virginia, 13; Margaret, 11; Mary Ruth, 9; and James, 7, children of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Hardesty. The accident occurred about 16 miles southwest of here.”
(Associated Press. “Students Drown While Returning From School. Beckley Post-Herald and Raleigh Register, WV. 3-6-1955, p. 1.)

March 5, AP: “Huntington, March 5 (AP) – The Ohio River south of Point Pleasant flooded tonight for the second time this week. New, hard ranis also threatened more trouble in the southern West Virginia area ravaged last Monday night and Tuesday. The river from Pittsburgh to Wheeling meantime remained above flood, but the Weather Bureau predicted the danger there was past, unless more rain should fall. Meteorologist Leroy Stone said the headwaters of the Guyan which gave Logan its worst flood in many years are ‘building up,’ and that a similar condition is developing in the upper reaches of the Elk and Gauley rivers in Kanawha County. Stone added that although Logan will get high water again it will not be as bad as that earlier this week during which hundreds of families were evacuated.

“Heavy rains fell over the upper Ohio River watershed last night but Pittsburgh apparently escaped serious trouble. The river there was expected to crest at 26 feet – one foot above flood level – tonight. Stone predicted stages up to six feet above flood level in the Huntington area Monday, and possibly nine feet above at Ashland, Ky. He emphasized that these were preliminary predictions and that the stream might go higher….Rainfall within West Virginia in the 24 hours to early today exceeded two inches in Charleston and Summersville. The Kanawha River at Charleston is expected to have 23 to 30 feet tomorrow, still well below the flood stage of 34. The Weather Bureau said this morning there would be flooding on the Gauley and Elk rivers from the headwaters to the mouths and on all tributaries….The Ohio River at Wheeling had reached 35.5 feet, just half a foot below flood state at 6 p.m. tonight and was expected to crest at exactly flood stage (36 feet) at midnight.” (Associated Press. “New Floods Follow Hard Rain.” Beckley Post-Herald and Raleigh Register, WV. 3-6-1955, p. 1.)

March 9, AP: “Cincinnati, March 9 (AP) – The first death in the Cincinnati area as a direct result of the nine-day old Ohio River flood occurred today when a man drowned here in a submerged elevator. He was Trento Harton Jr., 27, who, fellow workers said, lowered a freight elevator in a warehouse while checking the depth of the overflow. The warehouse is situated near the river. The elevator failed to stop when it reached the water level and Horton was trapped.” (Associated Press. “Ohio River Flood Is Death’s Cause.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-10-1955, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Death Toll 2 In Logan Co. Flood Wake.” Charleston Daily Mail, WV. 3-3-1955, p. 12. Accessed 4-15-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-daily-mail-mar-03-1955-p-12/

Associated Press. “Logan Flood Toll: 2.” Raleigh Register, Beckley, WV. 3-3-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-16-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/beckley-raleigh-register-mar-03-1955-p-1/

Associated Press. “Mississippi And Alabama Rivers Overflow Banks.” Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald. 3-23-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-13-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com

Associated Press. “New Floods Follow Hard Rain.” Beckley Post-Herald and Raleigh Register, WV. 3-6-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-15-2023 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/beckley-post-herald-raleigh-register-mar-06-1955-p-1/

Associated Press. “Ohio River Flood Is Death’s Cause.” Beckley Post-Herald, WV. 3-10-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-15-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/post-herald-mar-10-1955-p-1/

Associated Press. “Snow Falls Over Northern Border…” Ada Evening News, OK. 3-2-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-16-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/ada-evening-news-mar-02-1955-p-1/

Associated Press. “Students Drown While Returning From School. Beckley Post-Herald and Raleigh Register, WV. 3-6-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-15-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/beckley-post-herald-raleigh-register-mar-06-1955-p-1/

Daily Middleboro News, KY. “Wind Dagame Tops $100,000; Three Drowned.” 3-2-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-16-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/middlesboro-daily-news-mar-02-1955-p-1/

Environmental Data Service, NOAA. “Losses in Individual Severe Floods in the United States since July 1902.” Climatological Data National Summary (Annual) Vol. 22. No. 13, 1971. Accessed 4-13-2023 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Climatological_Data_National_Summary/m_gG1xDxctMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Climatological+Data+National+Summary%22+december+%221955%22&pg=PA792&printsec=frontcover

Geological Survey. Summary of Floods in the United States During 1955. (Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1455-B). “Floods of March 20-22 in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.” Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1962. Accessed 4-13-2023 at:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/1455b/report.pdf

Evening News, Jefferson, IN. “Ohio River Continues To Rise; 52.5 Foot Crest Expected Thursday.” 2-28-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-16-2023 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/jeffersonville-evening-news-feb-28-1955-p-1/

Hope Star, AR. “Engulfed (photo caption).” 3-26-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-13-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hope-star-mar-25-1955-p-14/

Logansport Pharos Tribune, IN. “Four States Fight Floods.” 3-2-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-16-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/logansport-pharos-tribune-mar-02-1955-p-1/

Middlesboro Daily News, KY. “Minister, Deacon Are Drowned In Swollen Creek.” 2-28-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-16-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/middlesboro-daily-news-feb-28-1955-p-1/