Ohio River flood of 1937

===Indiana===
[[File:1937 flood Indiana farmhouse.jpg|thumb|right|250px|An upturned farmhouse in [[Posey County, Indiana]]]]
The river rose to a record {{convert|53.74|ft|m}}, which was {{convert|19|ft|m}} above flood stage, and sent water over the six-month-old riverfront plaza in Evansville. After January 19, the conditions in New Albany, Indiana were deteriorating at a rapid pace. By January 21, all roads leading to Jeffersonville were completely covered in water making it near impossible to travel. On January 23, a levee located on the intersection of two main streets failed. This caused for water to start rushing into the city; by midday, the water had risen to a total of 9 feet. The city and state declared martial law on January 24 and the federal government sent 4,000 WPA workers to the city to assist rescue operations.<ref name="Davis"/> Residents were rapidly evacuated from river town by train and bus in the early stages of the flood, making Indiana the only state to avoid drowning fatalities. According to some residents of the area, the sound of the rushing water was equivalent to that of the Niagara Falls. More than 100,000 persons were left homeless by the disaster.

The WPA workers led the cleanup of the city. The Evansville Merchants Retail Bureau took out newspaper ads to praise their work:<ref name=autogenerated2/>

<blockquote>Before and during the flood these men of WPA were active in salvaging property and saving lives, and immediately afterward they handled the cleanup job with such efficiency that many visitors were amazed that there was practically no evidence of the flood left throughout our entire city. All honor and gratitude is due to the rank and file of the WPA for their often almost super-human efforts, always giving their best in the interest of humanity.</blockquote>

The Red Cross and federal government spent the equivalent of $11 million in today's money in aid to the city. The Indiana State Flood Commission was created in response, and it established the Evansville-Vanderburgh Levee Authority District, which built a system of earth levees, concrete walls, and pumping stations to protect the city.<ref name="Davis">{{cite news | author=Rich Davis| title=When disaster strikes | publisher= Evansville Courier & Press | date=January 7, 2007|url=http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/jan/07/when-disaster-strikes/| access-date=January 7, 2007}}</ref>

[[Jeffersonville, Indiana|Jeffersonville]] welcomed the 1,000 [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] workers who came to rescue that city's residents. The federal government spent $500,000 in aid there, and $70,000 in New Albany.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> The [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] evacuated many area residents by train from its depot in Jeffersonville. Several small riverside towns, such as [[Mauckport, Indiana|Mauckport]] and [[New Amsterdam, Indiana|New Amsterdam]], were so devastated that they never recovered.