1938 Calif Killer Flood

http://www.ondeckvideo.com Fact: There have been eight major floods in the Valley since 1861, but the 1938 Los Angeles River Flood was one of the worst. The rains lasted for 3 days and the Big Tujunga Wash levee broke. Seventy-seven of its spreading basins were destroyed. Telephones and electrical power was shut down. Buildings on the Warner Bros. lot and the Olive Avenue bridge were washed out. It took 30 days and approximately $60,000.00 to clean-up the storm debris. The introduction of flood control channels has alleviated most of the flooding problems of the past, but has created the concrete eyesore we now know as the LA River.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• 1938
• flood
• disaster
• 1939
• storms

[voyeur06]

Hey, American History Gal, thanks for posting, just wondering if you have any details on which streets we're seeing in each of those shots.

Also...ain't it weird that New England had a literally *killer* hurricane that same year? I wonder if anyone has looked at global weather data for that year as a benchmark to compare with other anomalous weather years such like we've had in years past. peace out.

[americanhistorygal]

Sorry, I do not have any more info on this clip. I was trying to identify the streets myself. The only street sign I saw was "Magnolia" which is in the the San Fernando Valley.

[Boldorion1958]

Indeed, Southern California saw some weird weather at that time. In September, 1939, about a year and a half after the '38 flood, a hurricane swept through the Southland. Although it would have barely rated a category 1 storm by today's standards, it caused a lot of damage.

We haven't had a hurricane since, although a storm named Katrina just missed us in 1967.

[scarletlark]

Wow, it certainly puts today's flood controls into perspective! I live across the street from a former river in LA (now walled). During the rainy seasons, it gets pretty filled up! Crazy that my grandfather had to deal with floods like this.

[ManyHatCat]

Fascinating! You have a new subscriber. More like this, please!

[GagnezTV]

I didn't know about this before this video...

-G

[TheRomyGL]

There is a West Park Drive in Valley Village.

[billmckay]

The collapsed bridge is Lankershim at Universal City. There's a historical photo of the same scene out there on the net that's labeled.

[Chipster1046]

Intersection of Entrada Drive and Pacific Coast Highway is what you are seeing at 20 seconds and 50 seconds. Bottom of Santa Monica Canyon. There is a flood control channel running under PCH there now..

[sneakerset]

@americanhistorygal Feel free to contact me for some details on this event. Btw,the U.S.S. Arizona was actively involved in search and recovery operations following this storm.