Thursday, May 16, 2013

On this day: 1874 - Flood Disaster

On this day in 1874, a dam burst in Mill River, Massachusetts resulting in the release of the Williamsburg Reservoir. The ensuing catastrophic flood destroyed four downstream villages resulted in 139 fatalities. This incident is said to be the first major dam disaster in the United States and one of the most significant technological disasters of 19th century America. The break was attributed to faulty construction. In the aftermath of the flood, Massachusetts and other northeast states passed dam safety laws.

Source: UMass http://goo.gl/I6TGX
                                                      
Source: Wood Museum of Springfield History via Disasters in  the Valley http://goo.gl/EOKLM

Sources
Disasters in the Valley - http://goo.gl/EPuHK
UMass - http://goo.gl/f2Lak

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Steven Kuhr
Emergency Management Nexus
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4 comments:

  1. Kim NoyesMay 16, 2013 at 11:42 AM

    I had never heard of this disaster before reading this...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steven KuhrMay 16, 2013 at 11:55 AM

    Thanks Kim... Neither had I. This was western Massachusetts not far from what is now urban Springfield, MA. In fact From the research it appears that this stimulated new regulation on dam safety. As best as I can tell it was an earthen dam not well constructed. Also of note is that a couple sources suggest this was one of the greatest US disasters of the period. I very much appreciate your comments and input here on Blogger.

    Steven Kuhr

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMay 16, 2013 at 2:05 PM

    Thank you Stephen for commemorating this disaster.

    I wonder. Has anyone read or know of any books or articles about it?

    regards,

    Dorian

    ReplyDelete
  4. Steven KuhrMay 16, 2013 at 2:52 PM

    Dorian ...

    Here are the two sources I used
    http://goo.gl/EPuHK
    http://goo.gl/f2Lak

    There is a book entitled "In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874" see http://goo.gl/kqc4A

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