Johnstown Flood (1889)

On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam broke about 15 miles upstream from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The resulting flood rushed down the narrow river valley and decimated the thriving industrial town, killing over 2,000 people. The circumstances and events surrounding the flood remain powerful lessons for those who study crisis events.

The earth dam on Conemaugh Creek (which grew to be Lake Conemaugh), was originally constructed by engineers to hold 10 feet of water. The reserve of water was intended to aid water transportation on the Conemaugh River for riverboats. However, railroads eventually replaced the river as a way to transport goods such as the coal and iron produced in the town. Eventually, the railroad purchased the dam, but maintained it poorly by fixing it with substandard and inexpensive materials such as straw and dirt. Additionally, cast iron discharge pipes, intended to control water levels in the reservoir, were removed from the dam and sold for scrap.

Because the dam's original purpose was obsolete, it was repurposed as Lake Conemaugh for recreation and filled beyond its engineered capacity to accommodate fishing and water sports. The lake was again sold to the private interests of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club and became an exclusive recreational area for the very wealthy. Andrew Mellon, Philander C. Knox, and Andrew Carnegie were among the captains of industry that came down to the lake to get away from nearby Pittsburgh. The club was warned of the dam's desperate need of repair, and Cambria Iron Works in Johnstown even offered to share the cost of strengthening the dam; however, these warnings and pleas went unanswered.

Johnstown residents were also aware of the dangers of living below the dam and were often warned that the dam was about to break; however, the dam still held. Residents began to disregard the risk of this local hazard and regularly joked with each other about the dam breaking. Thus, when men on horses were sent to warn people that the dam was about to give way, most people simply ignored the warnings and continued their normal activities.

A week of torrential rains began to swell local tributaries, and Lake Conemaugh began to rise uncontrollably at nearly a foot an hour. Efforts to release the water were impeded when attempts to increase the flow of the dam's only spillway failed because a grate, intended to keep the lake's game fish in the lake, had rusted in place and caused debris to pile up and prevented water from draining into the spillway properly. As the lake continued to rise, water began spilling over the dam, which was previously lowered to open up the view, and began washing away the backside of the dam, seriously compromising its integrity. When the center of the dam finally gave way, a wall of water ranging from 15–50 feet high raced down the narrow river valley at 40 miles per hour. The flood completely destroyed everything in its [Page 371][Page 372]path, including several smaller communities along the river, before reaching Johnstown.

...