Scrapbook of the 1938 Flood - Chicopee
One of two scrapbooks by Tadesuz Chmura that show the devastation of the September 21, 1938 Hurricane and Flood in Chicopee. Chmura was a water department employee for Chicopee and many of the snapshots give a unique perspective of the destruction and reconstruction of the bridges and dams through the following year.
The 1938 New England Hurricane was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm formed near the coast of Africa on September 9, becoming a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Long Island on September 21. It is estimated that the hurricane killed 682 people, damaged or destroyed more than 57,000 homes, and caused property losses estimated at $306 million ($4.7 billion in 2017). Damaged trees and buildings were still seen in the affected areas as late as 1951. It remains the most powerful and deadliest hurricane in recorded New England history
The eye of the storm followed the Connecticut River north into Massachusetts, where the winds and flooding killed 99 people. In Springfield, the river rose six to 10 feet (3 m) above flood stage, causing significant damage. Up to 6 in (150 mm) of rain fell across western Massachusetts, which combined with over 4 in (100 mm) that had fallen a few days earlier to produce widespread flooding. Flash flooding on the Chicopee River washed away the Chicopee Falls Bridge, while the Connecticut River flooded most of the Willimansett section.
