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Flooding has long been transportation hazard

November 30, 2021

Delaware, it’s said, is a state with three counties at low tide and two counties at high. When excessive rains and high tides soak our low-lying state, flooding often occurs, causing property damage and hindering transportation, as shown in this photograph made in September 1935.

The location is Vernon in Kent County, where flooding that year undermined and washed out a section of concrete road.  Vernon is a small, unincorporated community located along Delaware Route 14 west of Harrington and just above the Sussex County line.  According to Wikipedia, Vernon’s elevation is 49 feet.

With global warming causing sea level rise, and much of the Delmarva Peninsula sinking via a natural process known as subsidence, it’s likely that scenes like this will become even more common in the future. 

  • Delaware Cape Region History in Photographs, published every Tuesday in the Cape Gazette, features historical photos from Delaware's Cape Region - particularly - and from throughout Sussex County and Delaware generally.

    Readers are invited to submit photos of historic interest. They can be mailed to the Cape Gazette at PO Box 213, Lewes, DE 19958, or via email to newsroom@capegazette.com.

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