Despite most rivers in Ohio State experiencing constant flooding every spring, an unusual disaster struck when the banks of the Miami River broke causing widespread flooding in Ohio. The flooding caused extensive destruction to the state ranging from homes, railroads, factories and other property. Previously, floods had been experienced in the Miami Valley but none compared to the great flood of 1913.
Causes of Dayton flooding
Several reasons have been brought forward as possible causes for the Dayton flooding. The Dayton town had been built on a relatively low laying land a few kilometers from the confluence of the tributaries of the Miami River (Zeiser, 2017). Initially, the town planners had viewed the location approximate to the river as an advantage given that residents would enjoy a near source of water. The rivers were also used extensively to provide a transport means, and thus the location as earlier devised was advantageous.
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Another possible cause for the great flooding is largely viewed by historians as the preceding winter. Zeiser, (2017), confirms that the hard winter caused a saturation of the soils from ice and snow and thus when the rains came; the soil could not absorb much rain. Consequently, the rain’s runoff found its way into rivers and streams creating an overflow of the Miami River as well as its tributaries.
Most notably, the system used for flood protection was not very effective. The levees constructed before were continuously weakening with the constant flooding experiences. A considerable portion of land in the Ohio cities including Dayton was floodplains without proper flood protection systems. Many of the canals initially used for transport were blocked aggravating flooding.
Response and recovery
The destruction caused by the great flood was quite significant making the residents of the destroyed places make major steps in creating a response team to aid in recovery and prevent future disasters. The residents despite having endured economic losses made contributions to initiate the construction of a flooding protection program by containing the Miami River decisively.
An engineer Arthur Morgan was hired to undertake the construction program of containing the rivers’ banks permanently (Zeiser, 2017). The engineer realized that building a protection system would call for an inter-county and inter-city solution and that the existing law did not provide for such an intervention. An act, the Conservancy Act, was drafted by John McMahon and presented to the state legislature for discussion and passing into law. The act once passed into law created regional agencies to assist in flood protection.
Following the Conservancy Act being signed into law by the Ohio Governor, residents of Miami Valley and community leaders started to push for the formation of Miami Conservancy District to protect against flooding. Zeiser, (2017), further notes that the Conservancy Districts gained jurisdiction to initiate water management mainly flooding in conjunction with local communities and landowners. Additionally, another law was passed authorizing the provision of funding by the state government towards conservancy districts.
The local community in association with the local government agencies initiated the construction of new levees to contain Miami River, Stillwater River and other tributaries of the Miami River.
Collaborative efforts in response to the flood
The response to the great flooding was realized through concerted efforts from various individuals and agencies as well as the federal government. The Miami Valley residents initiated a response to prevent future flooding as well as reconstruct the destroyed cities. The state government under Governor James Cox signed into law the Conservancy Act to help realize the formation of regional agencies that would aid in mitigating disasters like the great flood while offering assistance to affected communities (Zeiser, 2017).
The federal government intervened in the crisis through the then President Woodrow Wilson who through telegrams communicated with the Ohio governor seeking to assist. Additionally, the American Army Corps and the Red Cross came in to assist.
Without the involvement of the State government, the Federal government and other agencies, the rescue mission and reconstruction efforts in the Miami Valley would not have been realized successfully.
Positive outcomes of the flood
Despite the floods being largely destructive, they brought with them baggage of good tidings. The Conservancy Act is one notable positive outcome of the great flood. Had the floods not occurred, the act that allowed for legislation to be passed creating regional agencies to counter disasters would not have been conceived.
It is commendable to note that the reconstruction of the cities affected by the floods was made possible due to the sense of togetherness that the floods brought. The spirit of a community was built which has endured to date showing that indeed it is possible for a community to come together for a common course (Zeiser, 2017). Additionally, individual participants such as Arthur Morgan proved integral in finding a lasting solution for the occasional floods. Other individuals like John Patterson organized relief efforts with a determination to prevent future occurrence of such a high magnitude disaster.
References
Zeiser, N. (2017). The Pearl Street flood: One man's experience of Cincinnati's greatest natural disaster .
