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1938 Los Angeles, California flood...



Item # 658901

March 04, 1938

THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 4, 1938

* 1938 Los Angeles, California flood
* Nice headline for display


This 30 page newspaper has a nice banner headline on the front page: "CALIFORNIA FLOOD TOLL CLIMBS TO 124" with subheads that include: "PARALYZED FILM CITY STRUGGLES TO RESTORE ITS PUBLIC SERVICES" and more with large pictorial. (see)

Other news of the day throughout. Little spine wear, otherwise in good condition.

wikipedia notes: The Los Angeles Flood of 1938 or 1938 Los Angeles flood was a major flooding event that was responsible for inundating much of Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, California, during early 1938. The flood was caused by a pair of oceanic storms that swept inland across the Los Angeles Basin in February and March 1938, causing abnormal rainfall across much of coastal Southern California. 113 to 115 people perished in the flood, which was one of the most catastrophic disasters in area history. The flood caused the destruction of roads, bridges, and buildings, stranded hundreds of people, and resulted in the flooding of three area rivers; these were the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana. Despite the extent of the disaster, however, its effects were moderated by existing placements of flood control features in the San Gabriel Mountains; it is said that the damage would have been far worse if there were no flood control measures in place at all.

The flooding event of 1938 was, however, considered a 50-year flood, meaning that it has a 2 percent chance of occurring any given year. The flood resulted in $40 million of damages, and was said by the Red Cross to be the "fifth largest flood in history". It heavily affected public opinion on the safety of area rivers, and as a result, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was prompted to begin channelization of the river, and construction of more flood control dams. Dams built in the aftermath of the flood include Sepulveda Dam, Hansen Dam, and Whittier Narrows Dam, which hydrologically connects the San Gabriel River to the Rio Hondo. The channelization, however, does not remove all dangers of floods; there were major floods in 1969, 1980, 1983, 1992, and 1994, with the last said to probably be a 100 year flood.

Category: The 20th Century