I-95 traffic - Hurricane Camille - August 1969

With Hurricane Sandy approaching, I dug out this great shot of the traffic backup resulting from Hurricane Camille's flooding of the South end of I-95 as it crosses the James River.

Also, check out an older post with an almost the same angle, from 12 years earlier in 1957.

Photo courtesy of The Library of Virginia's Virginia Governor's Negative Collection

I-95 flooding - Hurricane Agnes

With Hurrican Sandy heading our way late this weekend, I thought it was a good time to take a look back. 40 years ago, in June of 1972, Hurricane Agnes caused the James River to crest at a peak of 36.5 feet in Richmond, still an all-time high.

Here's a shot of I-95, looking South from the Maury Street exit ramp:

Hurricane Agnes - Broad Street flooding - 1972

Hopefully everyone in Richmond survived Hurricane Irene unscathed yesterday. Good luck to everyone in the Northeast today! Here's another look at Hurricane Agnes from 1972. This is Broad Street, looking West from Shockoe Bottom, up the hill towards downtown Richmond.

Photo from the 1972 book Hurricane Agnes…The Richmond Flood

Hurricane Agnes - 1972

From late June of 1972 comes this photo of the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes. The James River crested at a peak of 36.5 feet as a result of Agnes, flooding parts of downtown Richmond (the flood wall wasn't completed until 1995), and obviously flowing over the 14th Street bridge. Thanks to the floodwall, Hurricane Irene won't result in flooding like Agnes for Richmond this weekend.

The caption on this photo:
"A Virginia National Guardsman keeps watch at the south end of Richmond's 14th Street Bridge after floodwaters of the James River receded."

Photo from the cover/back cover of the 1972 book Hurricane Agnes…The Richmond Flood

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.

Main Street Station, Hurricane Agnes - 1972

Here's a fitting post for this rainy Wednesday morning...Main Street Station at the height of the flooding from Hurricane Agnes in June of 1972. This shot was taken from the I-95 bridge. As a result of Agnes, the James River crested at a peak of 36.5 feet, flooding parts of downtown Richmond (the flood wall wasn't completed until 1995).