The Johnstone Flood

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Few disasters in history were able to be as easily prevented and had such a large causality figures as the Johnstone Flood which occurred in 1889. In is an incident that few people know about but has had a significant impact on how we look at preparedness and mitigation in the Emergency Management field.

The City of Johnstone, located in Pennsylvania was established in 1800 near the Conemaugh River and had in consequent years attracted many Welsh and German immigrants who worked for the Pennsylvanian Railroad and the Cambria Iron Works. Adjacent to the city, 24 Kilometers up the East Conemaugh River is South Fork Lake, which was approximately 144 meters higher than Johnstown. Containing the South Fork Lake was the 22 meter tall south fork damn, constructed between 1838 and 1856 during a public works project.

The River contributed to the great prosperity of Johnstown by providing the primary means of transportation for goods and personal travel. The major industrial goods produced in Johnstone were Iron and Coal, and these were transported by the river. What once was a small township in the early 1800’s quickly became a flourishing steelmaking city with a population in excess of 30,000.

The rivers of Johnstone which are its lifeblood have also been one of Johnstown's greatest adversaries; this is especially true as its population increased. While the population grew and the city branched out it repeatedly encroached the adjacent rivers. Most if not all of the residential and business areas in the city center were situated on this flood plain. These areas were flooded on a regular due to snows melting and rainfall throughout the 19th century. The first major flood at Johnstown occurred in 1833. During this flood...

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... the dam, leaving the workers to use just mud and some wood to try to reinforce the weakened dam. Further the fish screen that was installed to ensure that the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club did not lose any fish to the dam turned out to be a major catalyst in the dam’s final defeat. The failure of the dam to let off pressure due to the debris stuff in these net made what could have been avoided a certainty.

As George Santayana famously said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. This appears to be prophetic seeing the events that played out during both the Johnstone flood and Hurricane Katrina. However with proper plans and infrastructure in place, appropriate inspection and maintenance, and an accurate and up to date emergency notification system, it is very feasible that we can in the future break this deadly trend.

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