Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
What many Pittsburgh residents still call “the Great St. Patrick's Day Flood” crested at
46.4 feet—nearly 22 feet above flood level. That 1936 mark has never been equaled, not
even in 1937 when most cities downstream on the Ohio experienced record flood levels. The
flood submerged everything that is now Point State Park, swamping much of the North Side,
the Strip, McKees Rocks, and low-lying areas all around.
The 1936 flood virtually shut down the Pittsburgh area. This postcard view shows the wa-
ters rising on Wabash Avenue. Soon many downtown streets were filled with water almost
