Home / History / Disasters & Survivors
The Johnstown Flood
A dam fails above a Pennsylvania town
After heavy rain, the South Fork Dam failed and sent a wall of water into Johnstown. More than 2,200 people died, and the disaster led to changes in dam safety.
On 31 May 1889, after days of very heavy rain, the South Fork Dam in western Pennsylvania gave way. The lake behind it, built as a fishing and hunting retreat for wealthy members of a private club, emptied down the valley toward Johnstown, a steel town.
The wave reached the town in under an hour, carrying wreckage and burning debris that piled up against a stone bridge. The official count was 2,209 deaths, one of the deadliest civilian disasters in United States history. Survivors had little warning.
Clara Barton led an early major relief effort for the American Red Cross. Lawsuits against the club failed in court, but the case is often cited in discussions of responsibility for dangerous structures and led to stricter engineering attention on dams.
The valley's steel mills rebuilt, and the town recovered within a few years, but the flood remains a lasting symbol of the need to inspect and maintain dams, many of which still stand near towns today. The Johnstown Flood National Memorial now preserves part of the dam site and tells the story of the disaster.