Devastation
on the Delaware:
Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955
by Mary A. Shafer
Excerpt from the Foreword:
As Storm Analyst
at The Weather
Channel, I report on significant weather events every day, including winter
nor’easters, spring tornado outbreaks, and autumn hurricane landfalls.
Though few affect me directly, I nonetheless feel an uneasy connection as I
track these storms: I know what makes them tick and the widespread disruption
they potentially bring.
Flooding from Hurricane Floyd in September, 1999 and Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 did affect me personally, and they remain the most vivid recent memories on my own weather calendar. Though I did not experience Connie and Diane, I have lived in Conyngham and Warrington, two of the Pennsylvania towns affected by the 1955 floods. I have spoken with individuals in those communities who vividly remember, decades later, those awful August days. And that’s why I’m pleased that Mary Shafer has chosen to tell the story of the Delaware Flood of 1955. It’s these individual stories of heroism and, sadly, tragedy, that remind us of the awesome power of the atmosphere.
Dr. Jon M. Nese
Storm Analyst, The Weather Channel
Former Franklin Institute Chief Meteorologist
Author, The
Philadelphia Area Weather Book
Atlanta, Georgia
April, 2005