Connecticut River Valley Flood of 1936
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Speaker:
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Joshua Shanley, Author of Connecticut River Valley Flood of 1936 and Firefighter-Paramedic
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Date:
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Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 7 pm
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Joshua Shanley's new book on the flood of
1936 will be published by History Press on April 26, 2021. |
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the Connecticut River Valley was a thriving manufacturing hub for fabric, arms and brass. But early in the spring of 1936, nearly two feet of rain over a two-week period created havoc on a massive scale, killing more than one hundred people and leaving tens of thousands homeless, unemployed and without power for weeks. Patrols were conducted in rowboats on city streets. Typhoid and other public health issues complicated recovery efforts. Adjusted for today’s standard, damage estimates exceeded $9 billion, and the flood helped launch FDR’s Flood Control Act of 1936. Dams, reservoirs and dikes were constructed to control future flooding. Much of that system now remains in place but has gone largely unmaintained.
Northampton in particular stands out as an example of the impact of flooding in New England. An early center of manufacturing and innovation during the Second Industrial Revolution, the 1874 dam collapse in Williamsburg demonstrated just how catastrophic a sudden flood event could be, killing 139 people. But in 1936, one person present in 1874 who himself witnessed the raging Mill River devastate everything on its swollen banks, later played a pivotal role in making a decision to change the path of that same river so it would no longer pass through downtown.
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Construction began in 1941 to protect Northampton from both the Mill River and the Connecticut through a system of flood walls, levies, pumps and stop logs, all of which have gone largely unchanged since built. A 2012 report noted that over $2 million of maintenance and updates were needed to protect downtown Northampton from another major flood. Failure of that infrastructure could result in an estimated $200 million damage in a flood that is over 127 feet. On March 20, 1936, the Connecticut River at Northampton crested at 129.9 feet.
Shanley will recount the greatest flood in New England history and examine the potential for future floods. |
Strong Avenue, Northampton during the flood of 1936.
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Connecticut River Valley Flood of 1936
by Joshua Stanley will be published by History Press on April 26, 2021.
Learn more at www.NewEnglandFloods.org.
by Joshua Stanley will be published by History Press on April 26, 2021.
Learn more at www.NewEnglandFloods.org.
Joshua Shanley
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Joshua Shanley has been a Firefighter-Paramedic for 30 years and has lived and worked in the Connecticut River Valley since 1995, the last 12 years with Northampton Fire Rescue. He served as the Emergency Management Director for the city for five years and still is part of the Emergency Management Team, currently managing the financial recovery efforts of COVID-19.
Shanley has worked in emergency services since 1989. He served as a canine handler with the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (Massachusetts Task Force 1) and participated in the response to the World Trade Center attacks both in 1993 and in 2001. He completed a master’s degree in emergency management in 2005. During the years that followed chaired various committees with a focus on public health and healthcare preparedness and emergency management. He ran a consulting practice for five years, working with hospitals around the country on a variety of scenarios, including flu pandemic and full building evacuation planning. In 2008, he earned an MBA in entrepreneurial thinking and innovative practices and, most recently, just completed a master’s degree in education. |