1937 Ohio River Valley Floods Natural Disaster Flooding WPA

This Works Progress Administration (WPA) video documents the destruction and rebuilding that occurred after the January 1937 flooding of the Ohio River that stretched from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to Cairo, Illinois. The effects of this devastating incident were increased further due to the struggles that America was already facing while in the midst of the Great Depression. While the devastation was extensive and left many people homeless or dead, it would have been further compounded without the help of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal Agency created to provide work to the unemployed. These workers bravely and tirelessly aided in the evacuation of people from the area, the distribution of food supplies and clothing, and the eventual clean up of the wreckage caused by the flooding. This video strongly and rightly praises these workers and acts as a motivator for those employed by the WPA and stands as a persuasive justification for the funds spent to employ the workers.