Washed Away

How the Great Flood of 1913, America’s Most Widespread Natural Disaster, Terrorized a Nation and Changed It Forever

By: Geoff Williams

Narrated by: Jim Vann

The incredible story of a flood of near-Biblical proportions - its destruction, its heroes and victims, and how it shaped America’s natural-disaster policies for the next century.

The storm began March 23, 1913, with a series of tornadoes that killed 150 people and injured 400. Then the freezing rains started and the flooding began. It continued for days. Some people drowned in their attics, others on the roads when they tried to flee. It was the nation’s most widespread flood ever - more than 700 people died, hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed, and millions were left homeless.

The destruction extended far beyond the Ohio valley to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Vermont. Fourteen states in all, and every major and minor river east of the Mississippi.

In the aftermath, flaws in America’s natural disaster response system were exposed, echoing today’s outrage over Katrina. People demanded change. Laws were passed, and dams were built. Teams of experts vowed to develop flood control techniques for the region and stop flooding for good. So far those efforts have succeeded.

It is estimated that in the Miami Valley alone, nearly 2,000 floods have been prevented, and the same methods have been used as a model for flood control nationwide and around the world.

©2013 Geoff Williams (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Took a moment to build, then it was quite a storm

At first I was confused on how the story was told, it jumped a bit. But once I got use to the speech pattern I loved it. Alot of interesting facts in history that is not covered alot. I would often wonder a question in line with the topic, and it would soon be answered. Showed the human emotion, in joy and sorrow.

Washed away

Very interesting story! Amazing how many well known and successful people came out of the tragedy. And the final moral was communities and families should always band together during times of trouble, that we are stronger together than alone

I love these historical narratives

This one was a little hard to follow on audio as the author jumps around a good deal and there are lots of characters but I did enjoy the story.

Lessons in flood control

Devastating but full of human interest stories, the “Great Flood of 1913” caused hundreds of casualties in Dayton Ohio and many other areas in the Midwest. Lessons can be learned for today. Dayton responded quickly. Soon after the flood Orville Wright created a hydroplane that lifted the spirits of recovering victims. One of the early Water Control Engineers, Arther Ernest Morgan was hired by Dayton to design 5 dams. Their foresight prevented at least 7 similar floods, including one in the 1960s when I was living there. Planning for disaster is essential today and we need to learn from the past.

Frustrating

I have never posted a negative review and think that these may be the only 3 stars I’ve given, but this was a difficult listen! The writing is clunky as the author often repeats words (mostly adjectives) and turns of phrase within a few lines. The use of incorrect tense is frustrating as the author seems to shift to modern day while referring to past events. I don’t know how an editor let this draft slip past! On a more positive note: the narrator did an admirable job with the material and there were many interesting stories and characters that the author cleverly wove together.

Interesting history poorly presented

Snarky, supercilious 21st century judgements undermined interesting history. Author seemed unexperienced in real natural disasters.