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HURRICANE
AGONY"
The worst flooding ever in the eastern United
$tates! The realization now dawns that natural
disasters
can
wreak havoc
on
affluent industrial
nations.
r
MID-)UNE,
on che heels of severe
storms and flooding in Rapid
Ciry, Sourh Dakora, che firsr
American hurricane of che 1972 sea–
son, Hurricane Agnes, ravaged rhc
Atlanric seaboard wirh devasraring
floods. The heavy rains and Aooding
in much of che easrcrn Unired Sraces
have produced one of che mosr
excensive disascers in rhe narion's his–
rory - and
in
rerms of property dam–
agc, cerrainly one of the' mosr
cxpensive.
Thousands of homes, farms, and
businesses from Virginia ro New
York and as far wesr as Ohio were
wiped out by che week-long rains
dumped by tropical srorm Agnes. The
deach roll from Hurricane Agnes
soared over rhe one hundred mark.
Ac
irs peak, Agnes forced nearly 400,000
pcople ro Aee from rheir bornes.
Most Extensive in
U. S.
History
"Wc believe che flooding from che
Gulf Coasr ro Ncw York is
the mosl
extensive in the cotmlry's history,"
announced Dr. Roben Whice, head
of che Nacional Oceanic and Armo–
spheric Adminisrracion, which over–
secs che U. S. Wearhcr Servicc. He
larcr said, "Ncvcr beforc has che
wearher servicc becn faced wich rhe
threat of simulraneous Aooding over
such a large arca and affecring so
many popularion ccmcrs."
Afrer a helicoprcr rour of the hard–
hit arcas of Virginia and Maryland.
Whicc added, "In many arcas rhc
floods are also rhc mosr severe ever, in
rerms of heighr of water." He didn't
know of any rime in U. S. hisrory
when so many rivers and major
srreams exceeded record Aood levels.
According ro che U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers, 4,500 miles of
major U. S. streams and
9,000
miles
of smaller rriburaries have overflowed
rheir banks.
According ro Whire, Hurricanc
Agnes deparred from che normal par–
cern of hurricanes once
ir
hit Land.
"Usually, they [hurricanes] pick up
speed once rhey get over land, buc in
rhis case ir moved very slowly. and it
had rime ro drop enormous amounrs
of rainfall," he declared. "Then when
it carne up che coasr,
ir
didn'r rurn
our ro sea, as hurricanes normally do,
because of a low pressure rrough in
che Norrh Arlantic rhat forced ir ro
rurn west and go inro New York....
When narure gocs on a rampage, wc
are irs prisoners."
Damagc estimares stand at about
l.
7 billion dollars, bur che rotal cose
will not be known for momhs ro
come. Approximate estimares from
che governors of scricken scaces are
Florida, .$35 million; Maryland, $50
million; Virginia, $160 million; New
York,
$23~
million; and hardesr–
hit Pcnnsylvania, well over
41