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Floods & Hurricanes

See also guides and boxes below for specific events and/or agencies involved.

Flood 1955

1955 Flood Exhibit
This exhibit focuses on the damage caused by the November 3, 1955 flood that wreaked havoc in Connecticut. The exhibit contains photographs of the worst hit areas.
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Links to WayBack Machine version of the exhibit
Floods and Hurricanes in Connecticut
Digitized collection.
Consists of aerial photographs and b&w prints depicting scenes from a number of Connecticut towns.
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Consists of aerial photographs and b&w prints depicting scenes from a number of Connecticut towns. Aerial photographs make up the bulk of the collection and include mosaic, vertical and oblique views. There are 524 views of the 1936 flood photographed by the 8th Photographic Section, US Air Corps for the US Engineer Office in Providence, RI and 132 views of the September 1938 flood and hurricane in Connecticut and Rhode Island, photographed by the 118th Photographic Section of the US Air Corps. Noteworthy are the numerous shoreline views. Also includes 58 photographs of Naugatuck in the Flood of 1955 collectively titled "Black Friday", compiled by the Naugatuck Daily News, as well as several smaller collections. Photocopies of photographs in the Prescott Bush papers transfered to Archives & Special Collections at The Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut in August 1991. Also includes approximately 444 digital photographs which document damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene on August 27-28, 2011.

Hurricane of 1938

Hurricane 1938

The Connecticut State Library has quite a bit on the Hurricane of 1938 in several different collections.

Researching the clean up efforts - see also the WPA and the CCC.

While some historic sources use the term "tidal wave", it was actually a storm surge.

Books, Documents, etc.

Some are online.

The Hurricane and Flood of September, 1938. by Southern New England Telephone Company
Call Number: Stacks HE8841.C8 S68 1939 Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1939
A Photographic History of the Hurricane and Flood Which Devastated Connecticut on September 21, 1938 by United States. Works Progress Administration for Connecticut.
Call Number: online and Stacks F100 .U5 1938 oversize Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1938
Title variant: Moving finger writes; and, having writ, moves on.
Online access through our library catalog.
The 1938 Flood and Hurricane Disaster : Day by Day Account of How Health Was Protected. by Connecticut. State Department of Health.
Call Number: Online and Conn Doc H342n Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1938
The Hurricane of 1938 : Old Lyme Remembers by Dickey, Michele, 1952- ; Old Lyme Historical Society (Old Lyme, Conn.)
Call Number: Stacks F104.O36 D53 2008 Item does not circulate. In-house use only.
Publication Date: c2008
Hurricane Floods of September 1938 by Paulsen, Carl G. ; Paulsen, Carl G. Geological Survey (U.S.)
Call Number: online and Federal Documents I 19.13:867 Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1940
USGA Report. Online through our catalog.
Plates available at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wsp867
Taken by Storm 1938 by Lourdes B. Avilés
Call Number: Stacks QC945 .A95 2013 Item does not circulate
ISBN: 1878220373
Publication Date: 2013-10-15
"On September 21, 1938 the great New England hurricane hit the shores of New York and New England unannounced. The most powerful storm of the century, it changed everything, from the landscape and its inhabitants' lives, to Red Cross and Weather Bureau protocols, to the amount of Great Depression Relief New Englanders would receive, and the resulting pace of regional economic recovery"--Provided by publisher.
A Matter of Moments : A Photographic Record of Damage Wrought in Stonington, Mystic and Noank, Connecticut, by the Hurricane and Tidal Wave of September 21, 1938 by Anderson, Jerome S.
Call Number: Special Collections F104.S85 M3 1938 Item does not circulate
Publication Date: c1938
Please request items from Special Collections in advance
Hurricane Views, September 21, 1938. by Myles E. Standish
Call Number: Online and Special Collections F100 .H87 1938 oversize Item Does Not Circulate
Publication Date: 1938
Online Access through our library catalog.
Relief For Individuals Other Than Farmers by Connecticut. Coordination Office.
Call Number: Conn Doc Co70 c no.2 Item does not circulate
Publication Date: [1938]
Available online through our library catalog
Hurricane Damaged Forests : Still an Important State Asset by Hawes, Austin F. (Austin Foster), 1879-1962. ; Connecticut. State Forester.
Call Number: Conn Doc F761h Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1939
Report of Rehabilitation Committee by Connecticut. Rehabilitation Committee. ; Moran, Edward C.
Call Number: Conn Doc R28r Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1938
Available online through our library catalog
Photo Record, Hurricane and Flood, New England's Greatest Disaster
Call Number: Special Collections F9 .C64 1938 oversize
Publication Date: [©1938]
Item must be requested in advance and used in secured collections area.
Caption title: The day of disaster, September 21, 1938.
"Compiled and edited by the editorial staff, the Connecticut circle magazine; published for the New England historical events association, inc."--Page [1].
Guilford Will Carry On : Our Spirit Remains Undaunted After The Hurricane Of September 21, 1938. Sermon Delivered On Sunday, September 25, 1938, In The First Congregational Church Of Guilford by Moe, William Collins Hainsworth, 1876-1971.
Call Number: Stacks F104.G9 F567 1938 Item does not circulate. In-house use only.
Publication Date: 1938

Articles

Hurricane of 1938: Aboard "The Spray"
by Jenny Groome, The CONNector : Connecticut State Library newsletter. v.15, no.4. 2013: Nov., page 3-5
Connecticut's Declared Natural Disasters
The Hartford Courant photo gallery of Connecticut's Declared Natural Disasters.

Newspapers- Use our online and microfilmed newspapers to see how it was reported at the time.

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History Day Blueprint

Floods & Hurricanes

Floods & Hurricanes

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Flood 1955

Flood 1955

Hurricane of 1938

Hurricane 1938

Archives

Books, Documents, etc.

Articles

Terminology and Usage Disclaimer