A stone monument commemorating significant flood events along the Susquehanna River in Bloomsburg; Pennsylvania; raises questions about common perceptions of flood magnitude: stage or discharge? Ice jam or tropical storm? Local or regional? 500-year -flood; 100-year-flood; or 50- year flood? This paper discusses the history of floods along the Susquehanna River in Bloomsburg; Pennsylvania; as a reflection on these perceptions and other quirks of the flood record. Devastating flooding in the area in September of 2011 by the new "flood of record" calls attention to ideas of magnitude and frequency; seasonality of floods; and what we really mean by the "flood of record."
| Reference Type: | Conference Proceedings |
| Conference Location: | New York, NY USA |
| Publisher: | Association of American Geographers (AAG) |
| Date: | 24-28 February 2012 |
| Author Information: | Bloomsburg University |
| Keywords: | physical geography; natural hazards; flooding; Pennsylvania |
| Availability: | No published paper exists for this abstract. Contact the author for more information. |