Today in History, August 18, 1931:
The Yangtze River in China floods. Either directly or indirectly through starvation, 3.2 MILLION people die as a result.
That is more than every man, woman and child in the state of Oklahoma due to one natural disaster.
And the flood was only the beginning of China’s troubles in the 30’s. The war with Japan would take millions more lives.
Today in History, July 31, 1976:
The Big Thompson Canyon Flood.
While Colorado was celebrating its Centennial, a highly unusual thunderstorm broke out high in the mountains, near the source of the Big
Thompson Canyon in northern Colorado.
The storm deluged the canyon with the equivalent of 3/4’s of the area’s annual rainfall in a matter of hours. It sent a wall of water 20 feet high racing down the canyon; residents and tourists miles away from the storm near the mouth of the canyon had no idea there was a storm higher up, much less a torrent of flood water headed their way.
144 died.
Colorado State Trooper Sgt. W. Hugh Purdy and Estes Park Officer Michel O. Conley were advised of the approaching flood. Remember that this was before cell phones and other mass media, most of which would not have worked in the canyon anyway.
These men drove their patrol cars up the canyon, telling people to flee using their public address systems, with full knowledge of what they were doing….until they met the water and were killed.
I saw this memorial while visiting relatives in Greeley, CO as a teen. These men are part of the reason I’m a cop. God bless them and their families.
Today in History, May 31, 1889:
The Johnstown Flood. The area east of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania had received record rainfall; it was already a miserable day. But it would get increasing worse.
14 miles above Johnstown was an earthen dam which had come into disrepair. The dam was owned and maintained by a hunting and fishing club made up of wealthy investors, including Andrew Carnegie.
With the heavy rainfall, the South Fork Dam collapsed and 3.8 BILLION gallons of water rushed down the valley. Amongst all of the debris gathered by the torrent were 33 train engines. The 30,000 people of Johnstown had no warning when the water and debris reached them. Over 2200 men, women and children perished as the town was virtually washed away.
The combination of trains, trees, houses and steel from a factory slammed into a bridge and a temporary dam was created….which caught fire. Many who had survived the raging waters burned to death before the bridge finally broke.
There are so many more fascinating, heart-wrenching details in this story. If you would like to learn more, I suggest one of the first books by one of my favorite Historians…David McCullough.
The date is off for today’s post. My extended family is mourning the loss of yet another first responder in Colorado. So my mind went back to some other Colorado heroes who affected me and so many others years ago. I had to share it in their memory and in the honor of my Colorado LE family.
Today in History, July 31: 1976 –
The Big Thompson Canyon Flood. While Colorado was celebrating its Centennial, a highly unusual thunderstorm broke out high in the mountains, near the source of the Big Thompson Canyon in northern Colorado.
The storm deluged the canyon with the equivalent of 3/4’s of the areas annual rainfall in a matter of hours. It sent a wall of water 20 feet high racing down the canyon; residents and tourists miles away from the storm near the mouth of the canyon had no idea there was a storm higher up, much less a torrent of flood water headed their way. 144 died.
Colorado State Trooper Sgt. W. Hugh Purdy and Estes Park Officer Michel O. Conley were advised of the approaching flood. Remember that this before cel phones and other mass media, most of which wouldn’t have worked in the canyon anyway.
These men drove their patrol cars up the canyon, telling people to flee using their public address systems, with full knowledge of what they were doing….until they met the water and were killed.
I saw this memorial while visiting relatives in Greeley, CO as a teen. These men are part of the reason I’m a cop. God bless them and their families.
Today in History, July 31: 1976 – The Big Thompson Canyon Flood. While Colorado was celebrating its Centennial, a highly unusual thunderstorm broke out high in the mountains, near the source of the Big Thompson Canyon in northern Colorado. The storm deluged the canyon with the equivalent of 3/4’s of the area’s annual rainfall in a matter of hours. It sent a wall of water 20 feet high racing down the canyon, filled with deadly debris.
Residents and tourists miles away from the storm near the mouth of the canyon had no idea there was a storm higher up, much less a torrent of flood water headed their way. 144 died.
Colorado State Trooper Sgt. W. Hugh Purdy and Estes Park Officer Michel O. Conley were advised of the approaching flood. Remember that this before cell phones and other mass media, most of which wouldn’t have worked in the canyon anyway. These men drove their patrol cars up the canyon, telling people to flee using their public address systems, with full knowledge of what they were doing….until they met the water and were killed.
Today in History, May 31: 1889 – The Johnstown Flood. The area east of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania had received record rainfall; it was already a miserable day. But it would get increasing worse. 14 miles above Johnstown was an earthen dam which had come into disrepair. With the heavy rainfall, the South Fork Dam collapsed and 3.8 BILLION gallons of water rushed down the valley. Amongst all of the debris gathered by the torrent were 33 train engines. The 30,000 people of Johnstown had no warning when the water and debris reached them. Over 2200 men, women and children perished as the town was virtually washed away. The combination of trains, trees, houses and steel from a factory slammed into a bridge and a temporary dam was created….which caught fire. Many who had survived the raging waters burned to death before the bridge finally broke.
Today in History, April 15: 1927 – “”The roaring Mississippi River, bank and levee full from St. Louis to New Orleans, is believed to be on its mightiest rampage…All along the Mississippi considerable fear is felt over the prospects for the greatest flood in history.” –The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The rains had been pouring down almost continuously across the Mississippi River Valley (yes that includes Oklahoma) for almost a year. On this day in 1927 the rains increased. Rivers all over the mid-west, already swollen past capacity, emptied into the Mississippi River. Soon the levies began to break all along the river, inundating the rich farmland on either side of the river’s normal course. Over 27,000 square miles were covered in 30 feet of water, a stretch at points 90 miles wide. To draw a comparison, Oklahoma covers nearly 70,000 sq. miles…so picture, if you can, everything in Oklahoma east of I-35 under 30 feet of water. Only 250 people lost their lives, a miracle considering that nearly 1,000,000 people lived in the affected region. It was the worst river flood in American history; and still is. http://youtu.be/ouWcmvYDfy4
Mark Loves History! 