2. CEE 2804
INTRODUCTION to CIVIL ENGINEERING
Oct. 6, 2014
The Johnstown Flood of 1889
Dams
Stormwater
Ethics

3. Why do floods occur?

4. Johnstown Flood 31 May 1889 (4:07 PM) denuded river banks
river capacity cut in half
club hired unskilled workers to build dam, no engineering
spillway blocked, overflow pipes removed
club ignored report
club employee warns town, townspeople ignore telegraph
legendary
bombastic style
Victorian melodrama
songs

5. Smethport
Redbank
Johnstown

6. Mm
Storm of 31 May 1889
“When the storm struck western Pennsylvania it was the worst downpour that had ever been recorded for that section of the country. The Signal Service called it the most excessive rainfall of the century for so large an area and estimated that from 6 to 8 inches of rain fell in 24 hours over nearly the entire central section.”

8. South Fork Dam Cross-Section

10. Scientific
Social
Symbolic

11. Was this disaster an act of providence?
What ethical standards should be used to evaluate the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club’s role in the disaster?
What could have been done differently to avoid this flood?