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Devastation on the Delaware: Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955
The first definitive documentary of this tragic event along one of the country's most beautiful rivers. August 18-20, 1955: Three terrifying days and nights still remembered with awe in the Delaware River valley. Record-breaking rainfall from hurricanes Connie and Diane abruptly ended a withering drought, but the relief was short-lived. It was soon overshadowed by terror and destruction that tore away bridges and ripped houses from their foundations. From the river's headwaters in the Catskills and through the Poconos, excessive runoff surged down steep slopes and through valleys on both sides of the river. Tributaries swelled unbelievably, some rising thirty feet in fifteen minutes. Eventually, they all poured into the Delaware, transforming the usually placid waters into a raging, uncontrollable beast. Mountain resorts were inundated, leaving cars upended in swimming pools. Entire summer camps were washed away. More than 400 children were evacuated by helicopter from island camps in a tense, unprecedented operation. In the end, nearly a hundred people were dead and hundreds more homeless. Dozens were missing, some ripped--still sleeping--from their beds in the middle of the night. Victims'’ bodies were still being recovered thirty years later -- some were never found. Devastation on the Delaware follows the true stories of survivors and eyewitnesses to bring these events to chilling life. More than 100 historical photos and a dozen maps illustrate this narrative nonfiction account of a tragic event that changed life in the Delaware Valley forever.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
496 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2005
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41 people want to read
About the author
Mary A. Shafer
9 books8 followersAuthor, speaker, teacher, marketing consultant and full time nomad. Mary writes and speaks on subjects ranging from marketing, writing and publishing to history, weather, metal detecting, the nomad life, and pets. She lives and works from her travel trailer in various locations in America. Her works include "Wisconsin: The Way We Were" (1993); "Rural America: A Pictorial Folk Memory" (1995); "Devastation on the Delaware: Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955" (2005); "Almost Perfect: Disabled Pets and the People Who Love Them" (2008); and "Metal Detecting for Beginners: 101 Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started" (2014). Learn more: http://www.maryshafer.com."
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 5, 2023
Mid-August, 1955--just a few months after I was born, saw two hurricanes affect the eastern U.S. in very short succession, Connie and Diane. July, 1955 was one of the warmest and driest on record in many locations across the mid-Atlantic region esepcially in eastern Pennsylvania. At Reading PA (data back to 1888) it is still the warmest month on record. Anyway, the author Mary Shafer is not a scientist but she does provide a decent overview of the precursor meteorological conditions and the storms themselves. Of note were particularly anomalous warmth in sea surface temperatures along the east coast cited by the legendary Jerome Namias in Monthly Weather Review (Aug. 1955-- https://tinyurl.com/yh4v3pvk.
Rainfall amounts in Connie were impressive, with roughly 5 to 10 inches across the Delaware basin and Diane added another 6 to 10 inches just a few day later with a bullseye over 10" in parts of Monroe County, PA in the Pocono Mountains. She also points out the infant state of weather forecasting in 1955, pre-satellite/radar, pre-NWP (to say nothing of river flood forecasting). Apparently, the U.S. Weather Bureau (USWB) operated a 'River District Office' (predecessors of the current River Forecast Centers) in Harrisburg, PA as far back as 1945 (?) but there is no mention in the book of any crest forecasts for this event. The flood of August 18-20 (Diane) is still easily the flood of record at gaged locations throughout much of the Delaware River basin including every mainstem point on the Delaware from Trenton, NJ northward, where date exists. Per USGS, flood frequencies exceeded the .01 annual probability (100-yr recurrence interval) at all the gaged points, compared to more recent floods in April 2005 and June 2006 which were roughly 40-70 yr intervals. Somewhere around 100 people lost their lives and damage was extensive.
Mary Shafer does her utmost to chronicle the event from the human perspective, the book is it's own 'flood' of stories, photos and information about the impacts. She did a huge amount of research with dozens of personal interviews which provide authentic first-hand accounts of the event. My main criticism is the jumping back and forth among stories, times, places and people such that it becomes a bit bewildering at times. But her effort in seeking out and preserving this history deserves tremendous credit. The book was written in published in 2005 around the 50th anniversary of the flood and many of the folks interviewed will have certainly passed on by now. Dozens o interviews were conducted and as local history it will be an invaluable testimony for that region.
Post-flood saw significant developments and debate as always after such events. Extreme pressure was placed for structural solutions to flooding in the Delaware basin including a huge Corps of Engineer project call Tocks Island Dam which would have created a massive reservoir from Stroudsburg, PA up to Port Jervis, NY. The final defeat of that proposal took almost three decades and somewhat mirrors the battle over a dam on the New River in NC that was defeated in much the same way, partly by designating a portion of the river 'Wild and Scenic'. Several flood control dams were built on tributaries, including Brodhead Creek where severe loss of life occurred in 1955. The genesis of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) also grew out of the welter of legislation signed by Eisenhower in the 'wake' of this flood. And of course much of the blame for the severe loss of life (according to her) was placed on the good old U.S. Weather Bureau. But along with other devastating weather events these became a catalyst for improvements in forecasting capability in future decades. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) was founded in 1956, weather satellites launched just a few years later and of course the rise of numerical weather forecasting (long live the LFM!). Pretty amazing to look back on the duration of my own life and see how all that occurred. I'd say 3 stars on this one for organization but 4 stars for effort and heart!
Rainfall amounts in Connie were impressive, with roughly 5 to 10 inches across the Delaware basin and Diane added another 6 to 10 inches just a few day later with a bullseye over 10" in parts of Monroe County, PA in the Pocono Mountains. She also points out the infant state of weather forecasting in 1955, pre-satellite/radar, pre-NWP (to say nothing of river flood forecasting). Apparently, the U.S. Weather Bureau (USWB) operated a 'River District Office' (predecessors of the current River Forecast Centers) in Harrisburg, PA as far back as 1945 (?) but there is no mention in the book of any crest forecasts for this event. The flood of August 18-20 (Diane) is still easily the flood of record at gaged locations throughout much of the Delaware River basin including every mainstem point on the Delaware from Trenton, NJ northward, where date exists. Per USGS, flood frequencies exceeded the .01 annual probability (100-yr recurrence interval) at all the gaged points, compared to more recent floods in April 2005 and June 2006 which were roughly 40-70 yr intervals. Somewhere around 100 people lost their lives and damage was extensive.
Mary Shafer does her utmost to chronicle the event from the human perspective, the book is it's own 'flood' of stories, photos and information about the impacts. She did a huge amount of research with dozens of personal interviews which provide authentic first-hand accounts of the event. My main criticism is the jumping back and forth among stories, times, places and people such that it becomes a bit bewildering at times. But her effort in seeking out and preserving this history deserves tremendous credit. The book was written in published in 2005 around the 50th anniversary of the flood and many of the folks interviewed will have certainly passed on by now. Dozens o interviews were conducted and as local history it will be an invaluable testimony for that region.
Post-flood saw significant developments and debate as always after such events. Extreme pressure was placed for structural solutions to flooding in the Delaware basin including a huge Corps of Engineer project call Tocks Island Dam which would have created a massive reservoir from Stroudsburg, PA up to Port Jervis, NY. The final defeat of that proposal took almost three decades and somewhat mirrors the battle over a dam on the New River in NC that was defeated in much the same way, partly by designating a portion of the river 'Wild and Scenic'. Several flood control dams were built on tributaries, including Brodhead Creek where severe loss of life occurred in 1955. The genesis of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) also grew out of the welter of legislation signed by Eisenhower in the 'wake' of this flood. And of course much of the blame for the severe loss of life (according to her) was placed on the good old U.S. Weather Bureau. But along with other devastating weather events these became a catalyst for improvements in forecasting capability in future decades. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) was founded in 1956, weather satellites launched just a few years later and of course the rise of numerical weather forecasting (long live the LFM!). Pretty amazing to look back on the duration of my own life and see how all that occurred. I'd say 3 stars on this one for organization but 4 stars for effort and heart!
November 29, 2007
This is the only book I'm actually in, although I somehow manage to live inside all the books I read! Mary Shafer has done an incredible job of researching the collective stories of people caught in the disastrous August 18-20,1955 floods that swept through PA, NJ and NY. Until we connected through a librarian in East Stroudsburg in the Spring of 2005, she hadn't been able to locate one first-person survivor of the the flood that obliterated our little bungalow colony known to the world as Camp Davis and to our family as Davis Cabins. As "the last person to walk out of Camp Davis before the flood" I was able to give Mary a comprehensive look at our life before and after that tragic event and to clear up some research questions. Only 6 persons survived the actual flood out of close to 50, including family and friends. My sister, a girlfriend and I survived it by attending a camp-meeting on the other side of Brodhead's Creek just hours before. Our story is interspersed with others through chronological chaptering. The book includes my personal photos of Davis Cabins in the early 1950's. Mary's penchant for historical and anecdotal research, her interest in weather-tracking and environmental concerns and her ability to tell a good story all come together to make this a fascinating read!
February 6, 2010
Someone gave me this while I still lived near the Delaware River and it was after one or more of the floods we experienced. I tried to read it while I still lived there but couldn't. Tried again after I moved away from that nasty b****. Expectations were low but it was fantastic. If you live in a Delaware River flood zone . . . GET OUT!!!
February 15, 2013
Delaware in 1955 was experiencing a drought like no other. Crops were crispy dry, and farmers feared an entire loss for the harvest season. When hurricane Connie and Diane were in the area farmers had hope that the rains they would bring would save the crops. And at first... that's what seemed to be happening.
Then on August 18th the rain storm took a turn for the worse. The two hurricanes brought down record rainfall over the next three days, causing some parts of the river to raise 30 feet within 15 minutes. Homes were torn from their foundations, vehicles overturned, resorts were washed away and 400 children were to be rescued from a camp ground by helicopter.
When all was done, nearly 100 people were killed, some of the bodies undiscovered until 30 years later and some still, have never been found.
Devastation On The Delaware is both fascinating and devastating at the same time. There were times while reading this I held my breath, feeling was about to happen as the pages turned and there was nothing I could do to stop.
Sadly, this is one of those world events that I had never heard of prior to my book club choosing to read this book for our February review. I have read many true stories on disasters through my life and this one in the beginning drew me in as it felt a little like the movie Twister, where the people had little to no warning before the waters went from the lake to encompassing the city.
While a book of this topic could seem a heavy read, Mary Shafer expertly keeps the reader engaged with stories from survivors that are both at times lite and funny, and yes, of course sometimes bring tears to your eyes. The book is also filled with engaging pictures of the flood and maps of the areas affected by this horrific storm. While Mary talks about weather pattern and other storm related data but not in a way that it goes over this readers head. She speaks in terms that I could certainly comprehend and imagine what the storm had to be like.
Mary brings a lot of people into the telling of the disaster and that is my only real struggle with the book is that I like to know the people being written about and many people are hard to follow who is who and usually sends me (and did) back paging to find the person again and go "oh yeah, that's the one that....". This is truly a "me" thing and others may have no trouble navigating the stories and those within each one.
Written in such a way that I felt I could have been there watching that water rise, Mary's book is one not to be missed by those who like to read about history and events that changed our world and the people who experienced it forever. I was truly appreciative of the book and this will be one I will certainly keep on my shelf and refer to in the years to come.
Then on August 18th the rain storm took a turn for the worse. The two hurricanes brought down record rainfall over the next three days, causing some parts of the river to raise 30 feet within 15 minutes. Homes were torn from their foundations, vehicles overturned, resorts were washed away and 400 children were to be rescued from a camp ground by helicopter.
When all was done, nearly 100 people were killed, some of the bodies undiscovered until 30 years later and some still, have never been found.
Devastation On The Delaware is both fascinating and devastating at the same time. There were times while reading this I held my breath, feeling was about to happen as the pages turned and there was nothing I could do to stop.
Sadly, this is one of those world events that I had never heard of prior to my book club choosing to read this book for our February review. I have read many true stories on disasters through my life and this one in the beginning drew me in as it felt a little like the movie Twister, where the people had little to no warning before the waters went from the lake to encompassing the city.
While a book of this topic could seem a heavy read, Mary Shafer expertly keeps the reader engaged with stories from survivors that are both at times lite and funny, and yes, of course sometimes bring tears to your eyes. The book is also filled with engaging pictures of the flood and maps of the areas affected by this horrific storm. While Mary talks about weather pattern and other storm related data but not in a way that it goes over this readers head. She speaks in terms that I could certainly comprehend and imagine what the storm had to be like.
Mary brings a lot of people into the telling of the disaster and that is my only real struggle with the book is that I like to know the people being written about and many people are hard to follow who is who and usually sends me (and did) back paging to find the person again and go "oh yeah, that's the one that....". This is truly a "me" thing and others may have no trouble navigating the stories and those within each one.
Written in such a way that I felt I could have been there watching that water rise, Mary's book is one not to be missed by those who like to read about history and events that changed our world and the people who experienced it forever. I was truly appreciative of the book and this will be one I will certainly keep on my shelf and refer to in the years to come.
September 29, 2019
Mary Shafer wrote a comprehensive and fascinating book on an iconic event that occurred in the Delaware River area in 1955.
She begins by describing how such a disaster of this magnitude could occur and the multiple factors that contributed to it. Then shared the personal accounts of many, many people, young and old who lived through that terrifying event and then the aftermath and recovery process.
For anyone , who lives in or around the Delaware River, this is a fascinating glimpse into a period of history relegated to the far past. I drive, hike and bike the areas of Hunterdon and Bucks County quite often and still see homes standing all over the area that survived and thrived afterwards.
I thoroughly recommend this book to read as at times, I couldn’t put the book down or couldn’t wait to pick it up again!
She begins by describing how such a disaster of this magnitude could occur and the multiple factors that contributed to it. Then shared the personal accounts of many, many people, young and old who lived through that terrifying event and then the aftermath and recovery process.
For anyone , who lives in or around the Delaware River, this is a fascinating glimpse into a period of history relegated to the far past. I drive, hike and bike the areas of Hunterdon and Bucks County quite often and still see homes standing all over the area that survived and thrived afterwards.
I thoroughly recommend this book to read as at times, I couldn’t put the book down or couldn’t wait to pick it up again!
December 2, 2020
I read this book in a day and a half. I literally could not put it down. The details are amazing and led me to believe it was a much older person writing the story. I was truly surprised when I found out the author is younger than my 64 years. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and now, after reading this book, I can't drive along the Delaware River anymore and not think about all that happened back in 1955. If you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?
May 10, 2020
Fascinating look at the flooding of the Delaware in 1955. Snippets of people’s lives are relived in their telling. I travel and live around a lot the areas, and have seen some of the high water marks. It’s not just an historical count of a devastating time, but a picture of the resilience of the American people.
August 10, 2020
This book was so informative and took me back down well-traveled roads from my life growing up in Easton and my career as a journalist. Reminds us to never take the Delaware River for granted. Floods can be damaging to life as well as property. It was important to remember how we can all help each other out in the worst of times. Glad the Delaware was not dammed.
May 26, 2025
Absolutely addicting to read! An amazing retelling of a natural disaster from third-person, real stories of loss, devastation, and fear. Shafer makes you feel like you're there, watching it happen.
July 29, 2011
I have to say that I was overwhelmed with this story. My mother lived through this event (although in relative safety), yet hardly anyone who didn't live thought it remembers what happened now. It wasn't the best written book I've ever read, but as far as local history goes, it was worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews