What town was destroyed when the South Fork Dam broke?
On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam failed catastrophically and 20 million tons of water from Lake Conemaugh burst through and raced 14 miles (23 km) downstream, causing the Johnstown Flood.
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The worst dam failure in the United States was the Johnstown flood of 1889. The failure of the South Fork Dam, which affected Johnstown, is currently regarded as the worst dam failure in U.S. history.
Downriver towns and major cities would see the most damage, in the event of the dam's physical collapse. Water flows would engulf many towns and growing cities around Mohave county, including Laughlin, Nevada; Needles, California; Lake Havasu, Arizona; and even as far south as Yuma, Arizona, and San Luis Rey, Colorado.
The South Fork Dam in 1853 and 1881. The South Fork Dam when it was completed by the state of Pennsylvania for the canal system. The South Fork Dam in 1881 after it was rebuilt by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club.
“Even if extremely high lake inflows had continued unabated, overtopping of the dam at its original design height would have been averted for around 14 hours,” Coleman wrote.
Mead reaches dead pool at 895 feet. If Lake Powell reaches dead pool, the US Bureau of Reclamation—which declined our interview requests—would be unable to meet its obligation to deliver water downstream to Lake Mead. In which case, 40 million people would be affected.