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Awful Agnes began as a tropical disturbance off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico on June 14, 1972. As the disturbance moved northward, it strengthened and became a tropical storm and by June 19 Agnes became a hurricane. Agnes made landfall along the Florida pan handle on June 19, then proceeded through Georgia, South and North Carolina before she moved back over the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast on June 21.

After regaining strength over the Atlantic, she made landfall again over southeastern New York on June 22 and moved westward in an arc over southern New York into north-central Pennsylvania. She became nearly stationary over Pennsylvania by morning of June 23. In the three weeks preceding the arrival of Agnes, Pennsylvania as a whole had received 2 to 3 inches of rain, thus greatly increasing the runoff potential of Agnes. Rainfall from June 20-25 reached 18 inches in the Susquehanna River basin.

The 1972 floods were widespread, resulting in extremely rare floods on major rivers and streams. The flood recurrence frequency in many locations exceeded 100 years, most notably on the Susquehanna River downstream of Waverly, New York.

Wilkes-Barre endured catastrophic flooding in 1936, when the Susquehanna crested a record 33 feet above its normal levels, flooding much of the town and raising concerns about future disasters. To mitigate the damage from future floods, town officials commissioned the building of enormous dikes that could contain a rise of 37 feet, unable to imagine a storm that could breach them.

On Thursday night, June 22, Agnes did the unimaginable. Torrential rains sent the mighty Susquehanna near the top of the dikes and sent thousands of residents fleeing for higher ground. The river eventually crested at more than 40 feet, pouring over the dikes and swamping downtown Wilkes-Barre under several feet of water. In Kingston during the height of the floods, of 6600 homes only 20 were above water. Water reached onto the second floor on Warren Street, Kingston and cars were flipped like toys in the Gateway Shopping Center, Kingston. Along route 11 in Edwardsville, water almost was on the roof of the Narrows Shopping Center. All merchandise in the basement and on the first floor of the Boston Store, Wilkes-Barre, was lost. Dan's TV Sales and Service, Shickshinny, remained standing, but the foundation was completely undermined. Bernard Racusin's two stores were wiped out, as was Winterstein's restaurant. About sixty homes in Shickshinny and Mocanaqua were badly damaged or destroyed.

Benton Borough Council needed two emergency sessions to stop the dumping of flood debris at the Benton dump, following the dumping of over 50 loads of debris after the dump was locked at night. Council President Jim Edson was told that the Army Corps of Engineers was going to take over the Shickshinny cleaning process and the dumping could not be stopped. Jim convinced the Williamsport office of the PA Department of Environmental Resources to send a representative to Benton to discuss the matter. President Edson, Donald Rabb and Paul Franklin accompanied by two state officials left for Shickshinny after allowing two trucks that arrived from Shickshinny to dump their loads. All dumping was then stopped.

Others who get credit for the work they did during the Agnes period included Chief of Police Claude Lewis and Civil Defense Head James Boudman. Switch boxes and stoker motors and equipment at the L. Ray Appleman Elementary School were under water. Men in Central made a hanging bridge across the swollen waters of Fishing Creek to allow Elk Grove citizens to get across Fishing Creek. The Orangeville bridge was destroyed during Hurricane Agnes and about a month after a "Bailey Bridge" was installed at Orangeville a tractor trailer truck sunk that bridge. Mud inches deep covered everything in the aftermath of Agnes. The river in Wilkes-Barre officially crested at 40.3 feet, although that is probably not accurate because the flood took out the measuring equipment.

The Agnes flood was the greatest flooding event known in the Susquehanna River basin in regards to both the area affected and the magnitude of the flood flow. Only the extreme upper headwaters escaped disastrous flooding. Flooding along the Susquehanna above Binghamton was only minor. Flood flows increased greatly downstream to Waverly, New York, which had a 40-year flood. The points along the Susquehanna River from the mouth of the Chemung River down to the Chesapeake Bay experienced the worst flooding since 1784, the earliest known records. Peak flows were often 1.5 times greater than the previous known maximum flood.

Flooding on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River was reduced somewhat by flood-control reservoirs, but the lower reaches of the West Branch still experienced record high peak flows. It was estimated that the flood peak at Williamsport would have been up to 4 feet higher if it had not been for the reservoirs. Major flooding was also observed on all tributaries downstream of the West Branch Susquehanna River down to the Juniata River.

Harrisburg suffered similar devastation. The Susquehanna rushed more than a half-mile out of its banks, inundating the capitol's downtown streets. Also ravaged was the new riverfront Governor's mansion, where brown, murky water covered the entire first floor.

Hurricane Agnes was the costliest natural disaster in the United States at that time. Damage was estimated at $3.1 billion and 117 deaths were reported. Hardest hit was Pennsylvania, with $2.1 billion in damages and 48 deaths, making Hurricane Agnes the worst natural disaster ever to hit the state. The damage over Pennsylvania was so extreme, the entire state was declared a disaster area by President Richard Nixon.

For 36 years, the local area knew the word "flood" and associated it with the year 1936, but a successor came along June 22, 1972, with a one-two punch. As the storm moved into New York state, it changed direction and in a "fish-hook" fashion curved into the Commonwealth. Heavy rains overflowed the banks of streams, ponds and lakes--then into the swollen waters of the Susquehanna. At 7 AM on June 22, the storm was classified as a hurricane; twelve hours later it was in the "extra tropical" stage. Wilkes-Barre's river gauge tells the story: at 7 AM on the 22nd, the water was at 8.3 feet, at 4:30 the water depth was 17.16 feet and by 10 PM it was at 28.80 feet. By Friday at 6 PM, the water rose to 38.5 feet and finally crested at 7 PM two days later at 40.6 feet. Nineteen feet was flood level in Bloomsburg; the Susquehanna reached 31.2 feet (compared with the high mark in 1936 of 28.7 feet). Danville declared martial law when the river crested 12 feet over flood stage.

Bridges were especially hard hit, including the ones near Southern Columbia high school, the Millville road to the Route 11 feeder, Mt. Pleasant bridge over Fishing Creek, Mainville, the Dan Kressler covered bridge and the Mordansville covered bridge. Four covered bridges in the county were lost in the storm. In the state, 126 bridges were destroyed and more than that rendered unusable until substantial repairs were made to abutments and supporting foundations. Much of the damage came from objects floating down the streams which were unable to float under the bridges. There were reports of houses, tractor-trailer trucks and trees speeding down the swollen streams. The bridge at Orangeville--a steel-girder reinforced with tons of concrete--"bobbed like a canoe" until half of the span suddenly sank. Shortly after, the other half of the bridge floated 60 feet downstream and sank. Gov. Shapp, following a helicopter ride, declared, "I have just seen a 60 mile ribbon of destruction that spread out over a wide area." The raging water raced through a Forty Fort cemetery washing away about 2,000 caskets and strewing body parts on back porches, roofs and basement floors.

In Shickshinny, four houses on Vine Street were washed away and Vine Street itself disappeared. A railroad trestle washed out on both ends, leaving the middle standing. The Route 11 bridge lost its road surface. Barns and garages on Creek Alley washed away. The fire alarm shorted out and rang until it finally quit, leaving the area without a means of rallying the forces in the event of a fire emergency. The large windows on Bernard Racusin's store on Main Street caved in from the weight of water pressure on the outside of the building. The "spring clearance" signs pasted to the outside of the windows covered much of what was left inside. Most of the town was evacuated. The light bulbs in the single traffic light on Route 11 could have been changed simply by sitting in a boat floating atop the highway. Lights in the traffic light operated during the entire flood.

Problems were huge ten miles north of Benton in the Elk Grove area. The road to Elk Grove isn't exactly "one-way in, the same way out"--there is a dirt road over the "mountain" from Nordmont. Agnes wiped out the steel and concrete bridge in Central over the west branch of Fishing Creek taking with it the utility pole carrying phone and electricity service. The 300 or so cottages in the Elk Grove area were essentially cut off from civilization, including telephone service and medical help. Jacob Janney and his two sons tried to get to their house in Elk Grove, then attempted to detour through Nordmont where they found a second bridge was out. There was no way to get to their family in Elk Grove. The men returned to the bridge at Elk Grove and walked along the creek toward their house, staying on the hill side of the creek. When darkness arrived, they were forced to sleep overnight in a driving rainstorm on the steep side of the hill. John Wharton recalls that he was stranded in Elk Grove for about five days. He was driving a 4 wheel drive Suburban from Nordmont shortly before that road was washed out. Residents vividly remember the efforts of the North Mountain Fire Company, aided by the women of the ladies auxiliary, who acted quickly. Standing in the raging water of Fishing Creek, they erected a "swinging bridge" from the Central side of the stream to the Elk Grove side of the stream. As groceries were needed, Elk Grove residents could drive to where the bridge had been to get across the creek on the rope bridge, then walk half a mile to the general store in Central.

The flood threatened the "light-plant" dam south of Camp Lavigne, Edson's dam (or the Brewington dam, if you prefer) north of Benton, the WPA dike along Fishing Creek in the borough and the pride and joy of Benton--the Benton dam. Sandbags piled on the west wing wall of the dam prevented the fill behind the wall from being eaten away. Water came over the top of the dike in a number of places. This was the first time water flowed over the dike about a mile north of the dam. Green Acres development in Benton Township flooded, as did the elementary school grounds (there was 6.5 feet of water and mud in the furnace room), the athletic field and Benton Park. Ten feet of the dike south of the Benton dam washed out and flooding took place at the east end of Market Street. Firemen quickly constructed a dike to protect the lumber at the Little Lumber Company. Adjacent to the lumber company, anything that was solid was piled on the creek bank.

Downstream, dozens of cabins flooded between Maple Grove and Orangeville. The "iron bridge" at Orangeville was a casualty. Valuable antiques from the West Main Street Magee Museum were lost as water cascaded through the plate-glass windows. Bloomsburg Fairgrounds were under water. Fifty carloads owned by Reithofer's Carnivals, in Bloomsburg for a planned PPL picnic, were damaged.

Knoebels Grove was in shambles, as was the Char-Mund nursing home, Orangeville, the Magee Transportation Museum, the Magee carpet company and the Millville dam. Front-end loaders scooped furniture, belongings and mud onto waiting dump trucks. Fernville faced the double threat of both fire and flood. Other communities reported fire hazards created by electrical short circuits, broken gas lines and escaping gasoline. Rescue workers adhered to a strict "no smoking" policy because of ruptured gas and oil lines.

Gov. Milton Shapp and his wife had to be rescued by boat from the flooded governor's mansion. Some homes along the Susquehanna had watermarks above their first-floor windowsills, an oily mud covering their hardwood floors, and water filling their basement to the top of the stairs. Mud quickly turned to a substance somewhat akin to cement as it solidified. The flood continued for five days. High water marks are visible at a number of local spots, and the records for depth have not been broken since and we all hope that the flood levels are never broken.

--Hurricane Agnes Rainfall and Floods, June-July 1972: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 924, Bailey, J.F., J.L. Patterson, USGS, and J.L.H. Paulhus, NWS. U.S. Geological Survey: Washington, DC. 1975.
--Water Resources Bulletin No. 9: Hydrologic Data of the June 1972 Flood in Pennsylvania Miller, R. Adam. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources: Harrisburg, PA. August 1974.
--Tropical Storm Agnes June 1972: Post Flood Report Volume I, eteorology and Hydrology Gannett, Flemming, Corddry and Carpenter, Engineers. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Baltimore, MD. November, 1974.
--Sullivan Review, July 6, 1972