City of Johnstown Flood: Article Summary

City of Johnstown Floods 1889
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City of Johnstown Floods 1889
On May 31, 1889, at 3:00 p.m., the South Fork Reservoir collapsed, dumping millions of water across the valley. The Johnstown Flooding will be remembered in history as one of America’s worst natural catastrophes. It was the most significant loss of human life in one day in the United States before 9/11. In the two days leading up to the storm, it had rained hard, and now much of the city's streets were under 3 meters of water. Many residents had already transferred their possessions to the upper floors of their houses. The South Fork dam, a rock and earth-filled dam built in 1852, was one of the earliest dams to be built in the country meant to supply water to a section of the Pennsylvania Canal.[. Wharton-Michael, Patty. “The Johnstown Flood of 1889.” Journalism History, vol. 38, no. 1, 2012, pp. 23–33., HYPERLINK "/edu/flood/background.html"/edu/flood/background.html]
Even though the proposals called for a 150-foot-wide spillway, the actual spillway only stretched about 70 feet. In 1862, the drainage works culvert failed, and a part of the dam was wiped out due to inadequate maintenance.[. ASDSO. “Description & Background.” ASDSO Lessons Learned, Lessons Learned from Dam Incidents and Failures, 2021, HYPERLINK "https://damfailures.org/case-study/south-fork-dam-pennsylvania-1889/"https://damfailures.org/case-study/south-fork-dam-pennsylvania-1889/3. Dieck H. The Johnstown Flood. Penn State Press, 2010.]
Benjamin Ruff bought the damaged dam and the surrounding property in 1879, intending to repair the reservoir and develop the land into a retreat spot for the prosperous. The region became South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club, with notable members such as Andrew Carnegie3. During the rebuilding of the main dam, Benjamin Ruff, together with other Club members, changed the plan to build their dream resort. They lowered the dam peak by about 1 meter to facilitate carriage passage over it, placed a net screen inside the drainage way to avoid fish loss during flow across it, and repaired the flushed section of the dam by random filling of mud, brush, and hay. After that, there were no suitable lower-level drainage works for dewatering the dam. They cut but did not substitute the collapsed low-level discharge conduits and parts of its masonry wall outlet.4
The South Fork reservoir's modifications caused problems in the structure's capacity to withstand a severe storm. Lowering the dam summit, thus reducing the freeboard, significantly reduced the spillway's power, worsened by debris accumulation. Furthermore, the cement used to rebuild the embankment rested, resulting in a low spot on the reservoir's crest, increasing the risk of overtopping and intense overtopping spill at that site..[4. ASDSO, 1.]
At least once every year, rivers in Johnstown overflowed through the streets. Floods became a part of life for the inhabitants of this industrial district in southwest Pennsylvania. On the eve of May 31, 1889, it rained nonstop, and by dawn, there was water in the streets. Businesses relocated their inventory to the upper floors of their towers. Familie...