Buffalo Creek Dam break
Coordinates: 37 ° 47 ′ 48.8 " N , 81 ° 38 ′ 45.3" W.
_location_map.svg){kind=small}
The Buffalo Creek Dam breach was the dam breach of a sedimentation basin on Buffalo Creek in Logan County , West Virginia , USA , on February 26, 1972. It caused up to 125 deaths.
Dam No. 3
About 5,000 people lived in the narrow coal-rich valley known as Buffalo Creek Hollow, 20 miles long.
The dam, one of several settling basins , owned by the Pittston Coal Company, was 32 meters high. It consisted of the typical overburden from a coal mine. This sludge is led into basins to settle, which constantly grow. There was no drainage and no way to drain away rising water. These basins are designed so that the water slowly seeps away.
The catastrophe
Heavy rains lasting several days had softened dam number 3. Only on the evening of February 25th did those responsible see a danger. Some of the people who fell below were warned, but the warning was not taken seriously because it was common. When the dam began to be damaged, a bulldozer attempted to dig a drainage channel. On the morning of February 26th, at 7:45 am, the first water began to flow out. Until then, no one had been seriously warned. At 7:59 a.m. the dam broke completely, probably at the point where it had already broken without damage a year earlier. The flood took some coal dumps with it.
The tidal wave
About 432,000 to 520,000 m³ of muddy water tumbled down the Buffalo Creek Gorge, struck several locations, including Saunders , and after three hours and 27 km at Man, it poured into the Guyandotte River . The tidal wave was six to nine meters high.
The number of dead is given as 118, 123, 124, or 125 (plus 7 missing). 1,000 people were injured, 500 houses were completely destroyed, 1,000 damaged and 4,000 people were left homeless. The damage totaled US $ 50 to 65 million.
Aftermath
This flood is considered to be the greatest disaster in American mining history. It was portrayed as "Force Majeure" but was actually based on human error and many mistakes and neglect. In the ensuing legal proceedings, the injured parties were awarded an average of $ 13,000 after court costs. The US Army Corps of Engineers received $ 9.5 million for cleanup work.
literature
- Kai T. Erikson: Everything in Its Path. Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. Simon and Schuster, New York 1976, ISBN 0-671-22367-4 .