This week marks the 50th anniversary of what sometimes has become an overlooked natural disaster — the Eloise Flood of 1975.
This area has suffered the ravages of floods many times over the years.
Most people remember well the Agnes Flood of 1972, as well as the flood produced by the aftereffects of Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011, and the severe damage caused by Hurricane Debby in the summer of 2024. However, many people overlook the major flood of September 1975, which was produced by the remnants of Tropical Storm Eloise. This flood is often overlooked (except perhaps by those who were victimized by it) because it happened a scant three years after Agnes, and Agnes looms so much higher in people’s memories.
Some of the people who suffered at the hands of Agnes were still waiting for government aid or insurance money from that storm when Eloise struck.
Eloise began as a tropical depression on September 6, 1975. By September 22, it had become a Category 2 hurricane. It made its way through the Caribbean and moved up the U.S. coast, eventually reaching the Northeast. It then started to downgrade to a tropical storm.
The remnants of Eloise interacted with another weather system, producing widespread precipitation across the Eastern United States, including portions of the Ohio Valley, the Mid-Atlantic states, and New England. The deluge was “almost continuous” during the period from September 22 to 26, according to a statement by the National Weather Service. One of the highest rainfall totals in association with the storm occurred in Westminster, Maryland, where 14.23 inches of rain were recorded. Here in Williamsport, the rainfall during that period was measured at 8.12 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The river crested at 27.94 feet at Williamsport on September 26.
The U.S. Geological Survey rated the flood as a “60-year” flood.
While Williamsport itself was spared significant flood damage due to its dikes, large volumes of water flowed downstream, causing misery for communities in those areas.
Though Williamsport largely escaped damage, at one point, the Memorial Avenue Bridge was closed for a period due to high water from Lycoming Creek
Many communities along the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna, as well as those along the various creeks that feed into the river, were hard-hit.
The hardest-hit communities in Lycoming County were Muncy, Montgomery, Montoursville, and parts of Loyalsock and Old Lycoming Townships.
Muncy, Montgomery, and Montoursville all declared states of emergency.
In Lycoming County, according to Red Cross officials, at least 500 homes were destroyed, with at least 215 receiving extensive damage. At least another 300 received minor damage.
Evacuation centers were set up at Hepburn-Lycoming Elementary School, Bethany Lutheran Church in Montoursville, Muncy, Montgomery High Schools, Jersey Shore Elementary School, and at the Nisbet Fire Hall.
As in 1972, Loyalsock Township’s Golden Strip received extensive damage, with both the Loyal Plaza and the Big N plaza inundated with water.
The state police helicopter, stationed at Montoursville at the time, and Pennsylvania National Guard helicopters assisted in rescue efforts as well as damage assessment efforts.
The storm claimed five lives in Pennsylvania and did millions of dollars in property damage.
Further downstream in Northumberland County, Milton and Lewisburg were severely affected, and damage was also reported as far down as Harrisburg.
In Bloomsburg, the annual fair was closed down for the first time in the memory of long-time fairgoers. The fairgrounds were under at least three feet of water.
I have vivid memories of this from my time as a student at Bloomsburg State College, when the Wednesday of Flood Week was “Student Day” at the fair, offering students a reduced admission rate. I recall it raining heavily during my first visit to the Bloomsburg Fair. Everything seemed to be rain-drenched, but the river water did not make its way into the fairgrounds until the next day, and at that point, they shut the fair down.
Another memory I have from Bloomsburg is from Friday morning, September 26, when they were asking students to help evacuate families from the inundated lower end of Bloomsburg. I recall several of my friends going down to help out. Interestingly, we still had classes at the college and I attended all of mine that day. I went to class that day because the professors who taught my classes were lucky enough to navigate their way onto campus through all the confusion and dislocation the flood was causing.
State agricultural officials estimated that $150 million in damage was done to farmland in the state as a result of the flood. The Eloise flood did more than $7 million in damage to roads and bridges in the county, according to PennDOT.
Lycoming County Commissioner Henry Frey surveyed the damage by helicopter and said Lycoming County was luckier than it had been in 1972.
It happened 50 years ago this week, but in some ways, it seems like only yesterday.
