Date: January-February 1937
Significance: The flood of record for the Ohio River; $20 million in damages
Holmes says: The flooding was so widespread, people were left homeless some 30 miles away from the river. This impacted people for months — you had families moving in with other families for weeks on end. I grew up in southern Illinois and remember hearing about this flood as a kid. My grandmother went through it and, though she lived 20 miles away from the river, she had neighbors who had lost their homes staying with her.