The Great Flood, as it would come to be called, remains the deadliest in US history, killing more than 2,200 people and causing $17 million in damage.
Traveling 40 miles an hour, with swells as high as 60 feet, the deadly floodwaters razed the mill town-home to 20,000 people-in minutes. Gathering speed as it flowed southwest, the deluge wiped out nearly everything in its path and picked up debris-trees, houses, animals-before reaching Johnstown, a vibrant steel town fourteen miles downstream. Though the engineers telegraphed neighboring towns on this last morning in May warning of the impending danger, residents-factory workers and their families-remained in their homes, having grown used to false alarms.Īt 3:10 P.M., the dam gave way, releasing 20 million tons of water. history-from NBC host and legendary weather authority Al RokerĬentral Pennsylvania, May 31, 1889: After a deluge of rain-nearly a foot in less than twenty-four hours-swelled the Little Conemaugh River, panicked engineers watched helplessly as swiftly rising waters threatened to breach the South Fork dam, built to create a private lake for a fishing and hunting club that counted among its members Andrew Mellon, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Carnegie. “ Reads like a nail-biting thriller.” - Library Journal,starred reviewĪ gripping new history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown Flood-the deadliest flood in U.S.
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