Hurricane Agnes

Southern–Eastern United States, June 15–25, 1972 

A relatively weak Category 1 hurricane, its intense precipitation nevertheless initiated one of the most extensive flood emergencies in U.S. history. During a five-day sojourn up the eastern seaboard in June 1972, Agnes forced the displacement of more than 100,000 people, caused nearly $2 billion in flood damage, and claimed 134 lives in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and Maryland.

An early season tropical cyclone that originated off the northeast coast of Cuba on June 15, 1972, Agnes was just barely of hurricane strength when it first made landfall at Apalachicola, Florida, on June 19. Its 75-MPH (121-km/h) winds knocked out power lines, downed several trees, and caused an estimated $10 million in property damage; it otherwise spared Florida’s Panhandle the full promise of its later fury. Densely laden with more than 20 cubic miles of precipitation, Agnes slowly moved northeast, spawning no less than 17 tornadoes in central Georgia. Twelve people in Florida and Georgia were killed.

After briefly reintensifying off Georgia’s east coast, Agnes quickly swept across South and North Carolina and struck Virginia with hurricane-force gusts and torrential rains. In the state capital, Richmond, severe flooding caused the James River to crest at nearly 36 feet (12 m) above mean low water, breaking a record that had stood since 1771. Richmond’s reservoirs were polluted with silt and stormswept debris, while several multistory buildings in the business district were almost completely submerged. 

Close to 10,000 people were left homeless. Touring the area by helicopter, then President Richard M. Nixon quickly declared 63 of Virginia’s 96 counties federal disaster areas on June 26. Slowly progressing up the coast, Agnes then battered significant portions of eastern Maryland. Fierce rains and lingering winds forced more than 2,000 people to flee their homes and caused an estimated $50 million in damage. Extensive flash flooding completely immersed communication networks across the state, making it impossible to restore service for several weeks thereafter. Fifteen lives were lost. 

During the night of June 22, Agnes thudded into Pennsylvania. Swiftly rising flood waters washed away numerous highways and bridges and completely isolated the state capital of Harrisburg. The governor’s mansion was severely damaged when eight feet (3 m) of water burst through its lower story, sweeping it clean of its luxurious furnishings and historical artifacts. More than 100 miles (175 km) of the Erie-Lackawanna Railway’s main line was deluged, forcing the financially strapped railroad to file for bankruptcy protection on June 26. In Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Piper Aircraft Corporation suffered the near total loss of its principal manufacturing facility. The sprawling residential community of Wilkes-Barre was completely inundated when an astonishing 19 inches (48.3 cm) of rain forced the low-lying Susquehanna River to breach its 38-foot (13 m) dikes. Scientists estimated that by the morning of June 24, the Susquehanna’s thunderous flow was exceeding an astronomical one billion cubic feet of water per second.

Agnes further ravaged 14 counties in southern New York before blowing itself out over southern New England on June 25. The identifier Agnes has also been used in the western North Pacific Ocean for two systems that were of tropical storm intensity at landfall. Between September 25 and 28, 1965, Tropical Storm Agnes killed five people and caused several injuries as it passed ashore in Hong Kong. This large Chinese city was again affected by Severe Tropical Storm Agnes between July 24 and 30, 1978, in which three people were killed and 134 injured. The name Agnes has been retired from the rotating list of North Atlantic tropical cyclone names.