Johnstown Flood

[Peanut]

(Long ago while in the military I went with a buddy to his home in Johnstown, pa. There was a popular local drink called a ‘flood victim’. Various kinds of schnapps that formed a brown/grey muddy looking liquid. Served in shot glasses the bartender would add a splash of grenadine on top, hence the name ‘flood victim’. Morbid yes, but still very popular! )

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More than 2,000 die in the Johnstown Flood

....On May 31, 1889, Pennsylvania's South Fork Dam collapses, causing the catastrophic Johnstown Flood. More than 2,200 people die in the disaster.

Located 60 miles east of Pittsburgh in a valley near the Allegheny, Little Conemaugh and Stony Creek Rivers, Johnstown sits on a floodplain subject to frequent disasters. In 1840, officials constructed a dam on the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles upstream from Johnstown. Nine hundred feet by 72 feet, it stood as the largest earthen dam in the United States, creating the largest man-made lake of the time, Lake Conemaugh...

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-johnstown-flood

 

[d_marsh]

Now I want to invent a drink called Climate Change. It's basically a glass of ice cubes but it costs 3x more than a normal drink and you get to feel smug while holding the glass.

I can't imagine living through a flood like that. Crazy.

 

[Bacpacker]

I saw a show once about disasters, this flood was the topic of that show. IIRC the flood was caused by shoddy construction due to cost savings by the bigwigs in charge. A huge rain storm led up to it. A lot of the dead were men that went back to the dam to attempt to reinforce it as it was failing

 

[Weedygarden]

I've lived through a flood, September 12, 1977, Kansas City, MO.

I wonder how many big floods have happened when engineers knew better, but others over rode their input?

 

[Neb]

I've lived through a flood, September 12, 1977, Kansas City, MO.

I wonder how many big floods have happened when engineers knew better, but others over rode their input?

As a retired engineer I can say...

Anyone can screw up but for a disaster, an engineer has to be involved.

Ben

 

[Peanut]

When i was there my buddy took me around the town and showed me the high water marks. There were even a few signs put up by the city to mark the water levels. The folks in johnstown didn't have a chance when the dam gave way.

I did see a show about it years later. Hour long, pretty detailed into the cause and consequences. Some of the richest men in the country were behind the failed dam. Which meant not one was arrested or charged. The middle men got the blame...

 

[Morgan101]

To this day it still ranks 3rd in death toll for disasters in the U.S behind the 1900 Galveston Hurricane and 9/11. Horrible tragedy that arguably could have been avoided had some very wealthy people done the right thing. I hope they all got called to a higher court.

 

[Bacpacker]

When i was there my buddy took me around the town and showed me the high water marks. There were even a few signs put up by the city to mark the water levels. The folks in johnstown didn't have a chance when the dam gave way.

I did see a show about it years later. Hour long, pretty detailed into the cause and consequences. Some of the richest men in the country were behind the failed dam. Which meant not one was arrested or charged. The middle men got the blame...

Sounds like same show I saw. I want to say JP Morgan or Andrew Carnige, or maybe both were involved

 

[Morgan101]

Sounds like same show I saw. I want to say JP Morgan or Andrew Carnige, or maybe both were involved

It was Andrew Carnegie. He was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, and I thought I had read somewhere that he felt some personal responsibility for the dam failure. He originally donated $10,000 to rebuild the library in Johnstown, and when they needed more funds he donated an additional $45,000 to complete the project.