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The 1937 Great Ohio River Flood


The collection of photographs in Time magazine shows the impact of The Great Ohio River Flood of 1937 - and is particularly poignant in the aftermath of the destruction wielded by superstorms of recent years experienced in the US

Photographer Margaret Bourke-White chronicled the aftermath of the flooding as people sought refuge in shelters, stood in line for food and crafted makeshift barges to move around.

One picture shows a line filled with African-American men, women and children waiting desperately for food, juxtaposed with a billboard that boasts the prosperity of the U.S.

The billboard shows a new car filled with an exuberant white family and pet dog as they race forward to a bright future, with the tagline ‘World’s Highest Standard Of Living'.

The photograph was later adapted for the cover of Curtis Mayfield's socially-conscious 1975 album There's No Place Like America Today.

The devastating flood of 1937 was another blow to the U.S. economy, which was already suffering from the after-effects of the Great Depression.

It claimed nearly 400 lives and displaced millions of residents of five states during the winter months of 1937.


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