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America's Worst Flood

May 31, 2012

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Profile America -- Thursday, May 31st. One of the worst disasters to hit the U.S. happened on this day in 1889 -- the Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood. Heavy rains burst a nearby dam forming a lake for a fishing and hunting retreat. When the dam broke, it unleashed 20 million tons of water in a giant wave that roared through Johnstown, killing more than 2,300 men, women and children, and destroying the homes of thousands more. The flood remains one of the nation's most costly, single weather-related disasters. Flooding is a constant threat. In the years from 2000 to 2010, a total of 694 people died in floods across the U.S. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2012, p. 290
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 388
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html