The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-07
Disasters by Flood.


Doubts are expressed that the Conemaugh
lake dam was as substantial as it appeared
to be. II seems that within the last few
years it had been greatly enlarged, and
this change in it probably weakened it.
Public sentiment will demand an investiga-
ton Of it for the purpose Of discovering, if
possible, whether it was as free from de-
fects as those responsible for it claim that
it was. If it was weak, and was known to
be so by those who owned the lake, the
probability is that there will be some big
damage suits in connection with it.
1t is difficult to understand why the people
of the Conemaugh valley should have per-
mitted the dam to remain after it had ceased
to serve any useful purpose. They were not
benefited by it. On the contrary, it was a
constant source Of danger to them. Many
times they had been alarmed by reports
that it had broken. When they were
warned on Friday that it had given way
they did not heed the warning because they
thought it was another false alarm.
The dam served no other purpose than to
make fishing pond for a number of wealthy
Pittsburg gentlemen. In order that their
love Of sport might be gratifed, a section
Of country containing a population of
10000 or $4,000 and many millions of dol
lars worth of property, was kept in constant
danger, It cannot be said that there was
entire confidence that the dam would
resist any strain likely to he put
upon it, because whenever there was
| freshet, the people of the val
ley were anxious about it. Since the
| people did not depend upon the dam for
water, or for power to drive the machinery
of their factories and mills, it is strange
that tEey did not have it removed. Of
course they now see what they ought to
have done. Probably the course dictated
| by common sense was plain to them long
before the disaster, and that they delayed
| taking any action because what was every
/ body's business was nobody's business
| What fearful price their delay cost them !
There have been greater disasters from
| broken bikes than that of Conemagh, but it
| is doubtful if modern history furnishes an
instance of so great loss of life in so short
a time from broken dam. When the bikes
at bort, in Holland, broke in 1916, as many
as 100000 lives were lost and seventy
two villages were destroyed, but the wor k
OF destruction was not SO quickly accom-
plished as at Conemaugh. In China, last
year, when the Yellow river left its banks,
a great region of country was inundated
and nearly 200 lives were lost. All were
not lost in an hour or two, however, nor in
a week or two. The deaths we're distributed
throughout the entire summer. A little
more than a century ago floods in Spain
caused the death of over 1000 persons, and
in 1918 rise in the Danube drowned 1000
Turkish soldiers. There were memorable
floods in France in 1910 and 1916, by which
nearly 1000 people lost their lives, and
| when the Vistula broke its banks in 1929,
more than 1000 human lives were de-
stroyed
In Europe and this country dams of res
! ervoirs have broken and destroyed many
lives and immense amounts of property, the
| most notable of which are the following
The bank of the reservoir at Lorca, Spain,
broke in 1899 and 1000 persons were
drowned; break in the embankment of the
Bradfeld reservoir at Sheffield, England,
in 1864, caused the death of $50 per
sons; the Haydenville, Mass, reservoir
burst in 1874 and destroyed that village
and 140 persons; the Lynch Brook reservoir,
near Worcester, Mass. broke through its
banks in 1876 and one life was lost; the break
ing of the Huron mill dam at Houghton,
Mich, in 1884, cost lives, and the breaking
of the East Lee dam in Massachusetts, in
1886, cost 8 lives.
A glance at the foregoing list shows that
there have been very few greater disasters
by flood than that of Conemaugh, and none
equal TO it in the shortness of the time in
which so many thousands Of human beings
were destroyed, or in the terribleness of its
scenes of horror, which were the result of
fire as well as water.