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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Flooding in downtown Richmond - October 1972

From the 1973 Varina High School Yearbook comes this shot of flooding in downtown Richmond. On October 7, 1972 the James River crested at 24.2 feet, easily in the top ten flood stages in Richmond's recorded history, but overshadowed that year on June 23, 1972 with 36.5 feet as a result of Hurricane Agnes.

Posted by Vintage Richmond at 7:31 AM
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11 comments:

  1. ZackMay 18, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    Really enjoying this site. Thanks for posting.

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  2. Will WeaverMay 18, 2011 at 8:46 PM

    Incredible aerial shot of some absolutely ridiculous flooding. On another note, it's quite remarkable how VDOT and the RMA were able to fit an interchange above here (referring to the I-95/VA 195 interchange, of course)...

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  3. CharlieMay 19, 2011 at 7:17 PM

    Yeah I am just marveling at the view and figuring out what is still standing, what those places are today and buildings that are gone.

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  4. Vintage RichmondMay 19, 2011 at 10:56 PM

    Glad everyone is enjoying this one as much as I did. I guess all of the buildings on the river side of what is now the floodwall are gone?

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  5. BruceJune 20, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    They didn't call it "Flood Zone" for nothin'!

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  6. AnonymousJune 21, 2011 at 10:03 AM

    wow, so much of that is gone now. despite the obvious benefits of a flood wall protecting that area from the river, you can imagine what a beautiful riverfront esplanade type area the city could have right there without the flood wall taking up that space. of course it would be washed away every so often....

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  7. AnonymousDecember 12, 2013 at 4:52 AM

    If 24.2 feet was recorded in the top ten worst floods in Richmond, are you saying that Hurricane Agnes was thee worst we had at 36.5ft?

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  8. Mario AccordinoMay 14, 2014 at 9:19 PM

    Stunning photo, have referenced it in ArchitectureRichmond's recent piece on the Manchester Floodwall Walk:

    http://architecturerichmond.com/2014/05/14/manchester-floodwall-walk/

    Thanks for a fascinating website that uncovers Richmond's storied heritage and places it in a contemporary context.

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  9. UnknownApril 7, 2016 at 9:56 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. UnknownApril 7, 2016 at 9:58 AM

    It is terrible how one day you have home and the other it is under water - gone. I am definitely buying flood insurance policy after this picture.

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