The Past Shapes the Future: 1936 Flood

In 1936, the Northeastern United States experienced record flooding from March 9th to 22nd caused by rain, snow melt and ice dams. These floods changed how the United States managed water resources. Following the disaster, Congress passed the first nationwide flood act, The Flood Act of 1936. Previous flood acts, along with many of the more recent ones, have primarily addressed specific flood-affected areas as part of their effort to mitigate future flood damage. As a result of the Flood Act of 1936, the US Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with water resource management, including the construction of critical infrastructure such as dams, canals and levees.

As years pass, we often lose critical insights, and sometimes valuable data as survivors who experienced extreme events pass away. A reanalysis of the 1936 flood and the resulting damage, was conducted by NWS Gray, ME staff. Harold Souther, formerly of Livermore Falls, Maine, was interviewed (by NWS Gray Observing Program Leader) in 2020 about his recollections of the flood and his daily journal entries from 1936. Newspaper articles, photographs, and damage assessments from the 1936 floods and beyond archived by local historical societies of Maine and New Hampshire were reviewed as part of the reanalysis project. These data and resources are invaluable for meteorologists and hydrologists to understand the evolution and impacts of flood events and to provide more effective forecasts and warnings for future flood events.