Hurricane Agnes and the Susquehanna: How devastation inspired mitigation
The disastrous flood 50 years ago claimed dozens of lives and caused billions in damage but prompted control technologies that have withstood deluges since
The mighty Susquehanna meanders down the Appalachian Plateau, shuttling water from the highlands of New York and Pennsylvania hundreds of miles toward the Chesapeake Bay. The waterway has long proved a valuable resource for the population centers that sprouted along its shores, such as Binghamton, N.Y., and Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
But in June 1972, a prolonged and punishing torrent of rain pushed the generally benevolent river to unprecedented heights. A flood catastrophe ensued — worse than any before or since — spurred by an improbable source: a scrappy tropical storm named Agnes.
Agnes wrought havoc from Florida to New York, killing 128 people and causing $3.1 billion in damage. It was the most expensive tropical system in U.S. history at the time, a record that would stand for more than a decade.
No region was harder hit than the Susquehanna River basin. But the devastation paved the way for flood mitigation and response efforts that withstood their first test just over a decade ago.'>>>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/06/19/hurricane-agnes-susquehanna-50years-storm/?
