Posted on 09/02/2005 10:26:56 AM PDT by TaxRelief
History had a good show on this last night. There were other full-length shows in the past. Amazing stuff.
But they didn't have CNN back then, don'cha know?
I'm sure President Bush's great great grandfather had something to do with it. </sarcasm>
And we PA residents are still paying a substantial "Emergency Johnstown Flood" tax on liquor.
Still?
and no electricity and no phones. and probably not many drug jones'.
Just look back to the 70's in India where 250k died in one flood alone.
There was also a flood in Johnstown in 1936 and 1977.
1936
On March 17, 1936, Johnstown experienced a devastating flood caused by heavy runoff from melting snow and three days of rain. Before the waters receded the following day, the flood had risen to 14 feet in some areas. About two dozen people died in the flood, while 77 buildings were destroyed-- nearly 3,000 more were severely damaged. Property damages were estimated at $41 million.
The disaster became the catalyst for major federal support to rehabilitate Johnstown. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) mustered every available man in a four-county area to provide assistance-some 7,000 men and 350 trucks were set to the task of digging out the town. After the flood wreckage had been cleared, long-term public works programs began, such as replacing sidewalks, roads and bridges.
But Johnstowners wanted more, and the White House was swamped with 15,000 letters from local people pleading for help. President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded by touring Johnstown, and authorizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to channelize the rivers through town, at a cost of $8.7 million. The goal of the Local Flood Protection Program was to increase the capacity of the rivers to prevent future flooding.
1977
A line of severe thunderstorms stalled over Johnstown on July 20, 1977, dropping as much as a foot of rain in some areas. Small streams - Solomon's Run, Sam's Run, Peggy's Run - carved new channels and smashed through expressways, apartment buildings, factories and homes. An earthen water supply dam collapsed at Laurel Run Reservoir, one of several dams that failed. The waters overflowed the channel system in Johnstown that was to have left the city "flood-free." However, according to later estimates by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the water level could have been as much as 11 feet higher if the channel system had never been built.
The Red Cross, Salvation Army, other non-profit agencies, the state and federal governments, and private individuals rushed to help. On July 21, President Jimmy Carter declared the worst-hit counties a federal disaster area (Cambria, Somerset, Indiana, Bedford, Westmoreland, Clearfield, and Jefferson; a few days later, Blair was added). The National Guard was mobilized, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers arrived to assist in debris removal and demolition of non-salvageable buildings.
The death toll would reach 85, while property damages reached the $300 million mark. Hundreds of people were left homeless, and took shelter in churches, schools, fire halls and even dormitories at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. After the immediate crisis was over, many small trailer home parks were established to accommodate those left homeless.
Over the next year, the federal government spent some $200 million in the area, rebuilding damaged public facilities and lending funds or giving grants to property owners for repairs and construction.
The 1977 flood was a blow to Johnstown's increasingly fragile economy. Many downtown firms damaged by the flood did not reopen or moved to the suburbs. Employment at Bethlehem Steel dropped by 4,000. Between 1970 and 1980, the city's population dropped from 42,221 to 34,221, a 19.4% decline, and the 1977 flood is a major reason why.
Questions: To what place are they going to pump the flood water? It is now such a poisonous and toxic melange that it cannot be pumped back into the Mississippi. Is there a large water treatment plant nearby?
Good info. The question is the same one that faces Johnstown periodically: Should they rebuild or relocate?
In both situations, the areas are located directly below a large body of water.
And I have yet to hear anyting about the destruction of Galveston, Texas.
I suppose it would diminish the uniqueness of the story.
David McCullough wrote an excellent book on the flood.
Thanks for the heads up. I worked in an oil refinery for 28 years and we couldn't move any untreated liquids without complying with a boatload of government regulations.
The Wall Street Journal did a story on the Johnstown Flood yesterday. Yes, looters and lawlessness ... and rebuilding.
The tragedy in 1900 in Galveston was not a result of dam failure. Galveston is not below sea level or a large body of water. Most of the deaths were caused by the storm surge rather than the high winds.
Storm surge is the main cause of death in hurricanes. With advanced warning and evacuation of coastal areas, death from storm surges can be minimized.
There are no historians on staff at CNN...and they'd be terminated if they ever explained American history to the public. There are dozens of major events in US history where massive numbers of Americans died. You just don't hear comparisons though. They drag you along on CNN...like a yellow journalism episode...making you crave more of their story. And you finally wake up and realize that the story is more broad than CNN can ever explain...and thats when you give up and switch to FOX.
>>>It is now such a poisonous and toxic melange that it cannot be pumped back into the Mississippi. Is there a large water treatment plant nearby?>>>
That's the huge question. I think this dilemna has humans stumped. They would contaminate Lake Ponterchain which has a large fishing industry. I wouldn't eat fish out of there if they pumped it in the Lake.
I'll look into that.
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