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ROOM
THE
WO R K S
PROGRAM
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--Works Progress A~ministration--
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For Immediate Release
Thursday, January 28 , 1937.
Hopkins Summarizes Flood Acti vi ties.
Harry L. Hopkins, Works Progress Administrator, today issued the following sum~ary of WPA activities in the fl oo d are a s of the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers on the basis of r eports from field he adquarters ma.de to him this morning:
ARY..A..L'TSAS--Headquarters set up a.t We st Men,phis to direct work of strengthing levees north and south from this point; 1,500 Wl?A workers now employed on
Mississippi levees and ad.ditional men available when requested by Army Engineers.
Situation in St. Francis and W:1ite River basins under control with 4, 000 men
working.
This nu.~oer will be r e duced as need for additional men on Mississippi
develops.
Plans completed for evacua tion of river counties if necessary.
will assist Army in this task with men and equipment.
WPA
WPA cooperating with
U. S. Public Health Service and Re d Cross in ca ring for refugees and safeguarding
public health.
Some 600 sewing room workers engage d in making mattress covers,
sandbags, clothing and bandage s.
ILLINOIS--Mound City 15 fe e t ur.der water; 3, 000 residents, 500 WPA
workers and 175 CCC boys evacuated.
working on levee strengthening.
At Cairo, 2,000 WPA men and 450 CCC boys
More tha n 15,000 WPA workers engaged in leve e
work, sanitation work, relief a..~d rehabilit ~tion of refugee s in Southern Illinois.
Several thousand WPA women workers making bed coverings, clothing, band-
ages, etc., for use of Red Cross.
TENNESSEE--WPA labor has r a ised the levee at Tiptonville four feet
and immediate danger of a break at that point has been averted, according to
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No. 4-1419
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Col. Harry S. Berry, State Administrator.
Some 2,800 iiPA men are engaged on
leve e strengthening in the vicinity of Memphis and points north.
200 i7PA rrorkers are assisting in the care of refugees.
An additional
About 5,000 women are
at work in sei7ing rooms rnaking clothing, bedding, etc., i7hich is turned over
to the Rod Cross and Tennesse e Welfare Commission on requisition.
KENTUCKY--Moro than 200,000 homeless in Louisville.
without water or power.
The city is
Transport a tion facilitio s demoralized but one rail
line is operating to the southeast.
WPA workers engaged in sanitation work
and cooperating with Red Cross in care of refugees.
engaged in flood work throughout the State, with
Louisville roll will increase as voluntary
Some 20,000
WPA
workers
2,100 in Louisville.
The
workers return to normal tasks.
Reports from Paducah reveal ample supplies of food and commodities
but most of city is under water with homeless evacuated to Mayfield.
sonville is under water as are Hickman and Fulton.
Jeffer-
New Albany, Ind., is re-
ported four-fifths under water.
WEST VIRGINIA--There are 56,000 homeless in the State with 100,000
people affected by the flood.
and clean-up work.
WPA has 2,000 workers engaged in sanitation
There are 28,000 homeless in Huntington where 640 W'PA
,rorke rs are doing emergency work of various kinds in addition to constructing
an emergency highvray which will connect that city r;i th state highways.
!bout
6,000 refugees have been moved from Huntington, i-lith Charleston housing 1,500
and that number i-rill be increasoa. by 600 today.
At Wheeling, 500 iiPA workers are now cleaning streets and buildings.
There are 14,000 homeless in the city.
In Parl::ersburg, 400 i'IPA \70rkers are engaged in cleaning the city
of debris and other rehabilitcttion nork.
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