NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 136

Looking Back
FIRE INCIDENTS AND
OTHER NOTABLE EVENTS
FROM SAFETY HISTORY
flooding that had washed
everything from trees to
boats into the swollen creek,
debris that was now piling
up against the earthen dam
and threatening to clog the
spillway. A section of boat
dock floated near before
wedging in just so, blocking
the spillway. Water rose
quickly up the face of the
500-foot-wide dam, and at
about 10 p.m. it overtopped
the earthworks and began
streaming down the other
side. Not long after, the dam
collapsed, sending the entire
contents of the reservoir hurtling
downstream.
DAKOTA FLOOD
R
50 YEARS ON FROM THE EVENT
THAT DEVASTATED RAPID CITY,
SOUTH DAKOTA
By Scott Sutherland
ain had fallen consistently over the
Black Hills of South Dakota during
the first week of June 1972. When
reports predicting intense thunderstorms
were issued on June 9, there
was concern that heavy rains could lead to flash
flooding in and around Rapid City due to saturated
ground and already brimming local streams. What
occurred was immeasurably worse.
The predicted storms hit on the afternoon of
June 9. Unusual atmospheric conditions produced
intense downpours that resulted in as much as 15
inches of rain falling in a matter of hours. Early
that evening, flash-flood warnings were issued, and
residents began evacuating low-lying areas.
But a much more alarming situation was developing
at the Canyon Lake Dam, located on Rapid
Creek seven miles upstream from downtown Rapid
City. The intense rain had triggered localized
136 | NFPA JOURNAL * SUMMER 2022
The wall of water that raced toward Rapid City was immense, scrubbing
buildings from their foundations and pushing a mountain of debris
in front of it. Just after midnight, as the floodwaters struck downtown
Rapid City, the flow was estimated at 50,000 cubic feet per second,
roughly the amount that goes over Niagara Falls in the non-tourist
season. Warning sirens did not sound, and many residents had little or
no time to flee. " A man knocked at our door and said, 'Get out as fast as
you can', " one survivor told a local newspaper. " We grabbed the children
... my dad's crippled and we picked him up and put him in the car, and
just as we drove out the driveway a big trailer started floating right
across the pathway, and we just made it up the hill and that was all it
was. Everything was gone. " Another survivor told a reporter that " the
only thing above water is the hilltops ... I guess we got a couple troubles. "
The impact was devastating, especially in Rapid City and the nearby
community of Keystone. Nearly 4,000 homes were destroyed or severely
damaged, along with more than 200 businesses. More than 5,000 vehicles
were destroyed. The disaster killed 238 people and injured more
than 3,000. Property damage was estimated at $165 million, or about
$1.1 billion in today's dollars.
As the city recovered, no homes were allowed to be rebuilt in the
Rapid Creek floodplain, and the local emergency warning system was
evaluated and improved. The city is planning a variety of events to mark
the anniversary.
THE NFPA LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE holds a rich collection of books, reports, and photographs
that document important moments in fire history. To provide better electronic access for researchers
and to preserve our unique archival holdings, work has begun to digitize the files of the Fire
Record Department, the original NFPA department responsible for collecting and analyzing information
and compiling statistics about key fires and other events. The incidents featured in " Looking
Back " are drawn from this collection and will eventually be part of NFPA's online archive. For information,
visit nfpa.org/library.
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http://www.nfpa.org/library

NFPA Journal - Summer 2022

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