townsend was inaugurated january 11, 1937. the state was immediately beset with a disaster as the great flood of 1937 began. within a week, every community on the ohio river was destroyed and hundreds of thousands were homeless. in the early stages, he coordinated evacuation efforts, routing all available trains to carry people to safety as flood waters rose. thousand of relief workers and the national guard were called out to help rebuild. the disaster remains the second worse to have ever hit the state. indiana was the only state affected by the flood, and there were no drownings reported. harry l. hopkins of the national relief administration said, "no state was better managed during the flood than indiana."