Occasionally a dam or dike would give way, either from age or an overabundance of water. During the Middle Ages, in 1228, one such flood in Friesland in the Netherlands claimed more than 100,000 lives. One of the most widely known floods in the United States resulting from dam failure occurred at Johnstown, Pennsylvania on May 31, 1889. After heavy rains, the dam ruptured and a torrent of water roared down on the city at 50 miles per hour. It's force was so strong that it moved a 48-ton locomotive one mile.
Some floods result from more run-off water than can be contained in the channel of a river bed.
The resulting crop failures and famine killed an estimated 900,000 people. In early November of 1927, more than 11 inches of rain fell on the State of Vermont in two days. The Winooski, Lamoille and White rivers rose and destroyed many scenic covered bridges. The flood waters washed away houses and mills and covered 7,000 acres with rock gravel. More than 100 people were swept to their deaths.