List of Floods - Floods By Date - Prior To 1950

Prior To 1950

• In 1889 The South Fork Dam broke causing a massive flood that took 2,209 lives in Johnstown, PA. The dam that collapsed had been built to create a lake for vacationing millionaires, such as Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon.
• In 1910, large areas of Paris were flooded when the River Seine burst its banks.
• The Great Dayton Flood of 1913 killed 360 people and destroyed 20,000 homes in the United States. It also damaged historic photographic plates belonging to Wilbur and Orville Wright. It ended canal transportation in Ohio.
• The 1916 Clermont, Queensland flood was the worst flood in Clermont history.
• The Hatfield Flood of San Diego, United States, of 1916 destroyed the Sweetwater and Lower Otay Dams, and caused 22 deaths and $4.5 million in damages.
• The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was one of the most destructive floods in United States history and the impetus for many later Flood Control Acts.
• The 1931 Huang He flood caused between 800,000 and 4,000,000 deaths in China, one of a series of disastrous floods on the Huang He river. It was one of the worst floods in history.
• The Ohio River flood of 1937 occurred in late January and February 1937, causing damage along the Ohio River and several smaller tributaries from Pittsburgh, Illinois to Cairo, Illinois. This flood left close to 1 million people homeless, 385 dead, and $50,000,000 worth of damage.
• The Los Angeles Flood of 1938 occurred from late February to early March 1938, causing the Los Angeles River and the Santa Ana River to overflow, causing $40,000,000 worth of damage and causing 115 lives to be lost.
• The Great Hanshin flood of 1938 occurred in July 1938 in Kobe area in Japan, causing 925 lost lives as exceptionally heavy seasonal raining caused landsides at Rokko mountains.