[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 84 (Friday, June 21, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1125]]
              30TH ANNIVERSARY OF AGNES FLOOD COMMEMORATED

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                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 21, 2002

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of the 
House of Representatives to the 30th anniversary of Hurricane Agnes. I 
would also like to bring attention to the approaching completion of the 
landmark Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project in my district to provide 
protection to the people of the valley in the event of another flood of 
that magnitude.
  On June 23, 1972, sirens sounded across much of my district in 
Pennsylvania, warning that the valiant effort to contain the surging 
Susquehanna River had been lost.
  Agnes poured 14 trillion gallons of water onto Northeastern 
Pennsylvania, causing the Susquehanna River to break from its 
boundaries and spread a layer of flood water 40 feet deep and 2 miles 
wide across a densely populated region in the Wyoming Valley. The 
damage caused by the unyielding rush of water was immense. Twenty-six 
thousand homes and more than 3,000 small businesses and factories were 
heavily damaged by flood waters and 3,500 families lost their homes 
completely. In all, 72,000 people were forced from their homes. Nearly 
15,000 Wyoming Valley families lived in trailers provided by the U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, many of them for the 
better part of a year.
  Luzerne County, located in the heart of northeastern Pennsylvania, 
suffered 69 percent of the total damage that Agnes caused in 
Pennsylvania. Property damage amounted to $1.3 billion, or more than $4 
billion in today's dollars, and another $300 million in road and bridge 
damage was incurred. Communities were faced with the prospect of 
rebuilding entire commercial and residential areas.
  In the wake of this disaster, one of the worst natural disasters in 
the Nation's history, a determined populace emerged. Residents of this 
region found courage among the ruins and forged ahead with an undying 
spirit to rebuild their communities. Agnes may have laid waste to their 
homes and businesses, but it could not extinguish their desire to live 
and raise their families in the ``Valley with a Heart.''
  The Red Cross and Salvation Army played a crucial role in providing 
emergency shelter and meals, not just in the first hours of the crisis 
but for weeks and months afterward. For example, that summer, the Red 
Cross spent $13 million locally on food, supplies and personnel, and 
the Salvation Army provided more than 4 million meals.
  Meeting the challenge of recovery were several citizen action groups 
such as the Flood Victims Action Council under the leadership of Min 
Matheson, and the Flood Recovery Task Force, which was chaired by Judge 
Max Rosenn. These groups were instrumental in the economic and social 
resurgence of the areas most damaged by the Agnes flood.
  I had the honor of contributing to this effort as the volunteer legal 
counsel to the Flood Victims Action Council over a period of almost two 
years. While the hard work and determination of local community groups 
and area citizens played a role in this historic rebuilding of 
northeastern Pennsylvania, the recovery assistance provided by the 
Federal Government was truly phenomenal.
  Through the cooperative efforts of Congressman Dan Flood, State 
Senator Frank O'Connell, Bill Wilcox, Secretary of the state Department 
of Community Affairs working on behalf of Governor Shapp, and Frank 
Carlucci acting on behalf of President Nixon, the Government rushed 
approximately $1 billion in aid to the communities of the Wyoming 
Valley. When critics disparage the ability of government to do things 
for citizens, I recall that moment when the Federal Government made an 
enormous difference for the better for the people of Pennsylvania, and 
look forward to the completion of the landmark project that will 
protect the people of the Wyoming Valley in the event of another Agnes-
level flood.
  In 2002, the people of the valley have something they did not have 30 
years ago--the nearly complete $175 million Wyoming Valley Levee 
Raising Project that includes more than 50 communities and 5 counties 
along a 60-mile stretch of the river. The structural components of the 
levee system are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
  In 1972, the existing levees were overtopped by several feet during 
the Agnes flood. In 1986, during my first term, Congress authorized the 
Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project to modify the existing flood 
control projects to protect against a new flood of the same magnitude. 
We had a disturbing reminder of the need for the levee raising project 
during the January 1996 flood. At that time, the rapidly rising 
Susquehanna River prompted officials to order the evacuation of 
approximately 100,000 people living in the City of Wilkes-Barre and its 
neighboring communities in the Wyoming Valley. While the river peaked 
at nearly 13 feet above flood stage, it remained within the banks of 
the levees and caused relatively minor damage.
  From my first term in Congress, I have made it one of my top 
priorities to provide Agnes-level flood protection to the Wyoming 
Valley, and it is heartening to see that day approaching.
  Completion of the levee raising project will be a major step forward 
in transforming the Susquehanna River from a liability into an asset. 
One of the steps forward that we have already taken is the 1997 
designation of the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna watershed as one of 
just 14 American Heritage Rivers in the nation.
  In the years ahead, I hope that we will continue our progress toward 
a cleaner Susquehanna that will provide recreation and an enhanced 
quality of life, not only for present-day residents but also for our 
children and grandchildren.

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