1972 Black Hills flood

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Black Hills flood of 1972

The Rapid City National Weather Service is now a forecast office with a full-time staff of meteorologists who issue both forecasts and warnings for northeastern Wyoming and the western third of South Dakota. In 1972, the National Weather Service office in Rapid City did not have a teletype system to broadcast warnings. They instead used a one-way telephone hotline to the media to broadcast the warnings. Today warnings are sent to a regional site where they are sent to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Wire System satellite. NWS forecasters use the state radio system to notify 9-1-1 dispatchers and emergency personnel. This warning is also passed on to the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

In the aftermath of the 1972 flood, short-term and long-term programs were put into effect. Many businesses were permitted to stay in the flood plain, but houses and motels were either raised or moved due to the likelihood that a flood would occur while a person may be sleeping. The majority of the flood plain was made into large parks, which have increased in number and have been improved and updated on a continuing basis. Canyon Lake Dam and most bridges were redesigned to prevent debris clogs during flooding.

Victims

Victims lost precious memories as stated in the Rapid City newspaper. An excerpt from the newspaper reads, "Operation Family Treasure' may provide hope for people.' For those who have given up all hope about finding a priceless photo album or sheet of important personal papers there may be a happy ending with "Operation Family Treasure," a clearing house for irreplaceable items run by the Rapid City Jaycees in conjunction with the Office of Civil defense. Flood disaster victims advised on tax breaks." [13] Eldon L. Smith, a South Dakota state senator, was a victim of the flood. [14]

2012 saw the 40 year anniversary of the fateful flood. Survivors remarked on the horrific events. Rita, who was 20 at the time, described the scene, "There was so many [people] in trees and screaming and crying and the sparks were flying from electric wires, houses were on fire, it was just — it was hell," she says. Rita was seven months pregnant at the time of the tragedy. She describes her fears as, "I wouldn't wish that upon nobody," she says. "That's a nightmare and a half to think that you're going to die in water and your mom is gonna go with you and you're trying to do your best to keep your mom alive." Rita and her mother were swept against a building and thankfully rescued. There were others with the same experience while others were worse. Good Samaritans like Alex were left to clean up the mess and search for the less fortunate. He describes a gruesome scene, "I found a boy about 5 years old," Alex says. "He was dead, laying on some debris. I didn't touch him or nothing, I just went back and told the authorities where he was at. Then I quit." [15]

Reactions

One unidentified resident of Rapid City, which was flooded, spoke to a reporter after the flood. "...the only thing above water is the hilltops. I guess it just ... I guess we gotta couple troubles." [16]

Another survivor said: "My house is no more. You can see it over there, there's the, well, there just isn't anything." [16]

And another unidentified survivor added: "A man knocked at our door and said, 'Get out as fast as you can.' We grabbed the children and 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." [16]

One source, Sean Potter, Certified Consulting Meteorologist and Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, wrote, "I called my best advisor, Mr. Leonard Swanson, the City Public Works Director, and we met at City Hall. Heavy rains were falling, and Mr. Swanson and I drove to Canyon Lake Park where a city worker and his family lived in the park caretaker's home, immediately below the dam. Swanny ordered the caretaker, a Parks Department employee, to immediately take his family, leave their evening meal on the table and get out of the park. The entire family survived the flood. Not a trace of the home (it was city property) or the contents was ever found. [17]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Nair, Hjelmfelt, and Pielke 1753
  2. ↑ "The 1972 Black Hills-Rapid City Flood Revisited". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
  3. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Carter, Williamson, and Teller
  5. ↑ Thompson 164
  6. ↑ Thompson 164–165
  7. ↑ Nair, Hjelmfelt, and Pielke 1756
  8. ↑ Arnett Dennis
  9. ↑ Thompson 167
  10. ↑ Thompson 166
  11. 1 2 3 4 “Rapid City Flood of 1972.” Archived February 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine RCPL-Rapid City Flood of 1972. Rapid City Library, n.d. Web. October 12, 2012
  12. ↑ Journal, Rapid City. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office. June 5, 2012. October 12, 2012.
  13. ↑ 29 June 1972. October 12, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Eldon L. Smith". South Dakota Legislature . Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  15. ↑ Ray, Charles Michael. 40 Years After Killer Flood, A Reshaped City Reflects. NPR News. June 8, 2012. October 12, 2012.
  16. 1 2 3 "Disasters"
  17. ↑ Potter, Sean (2012). "Retrospect: June 9, 1972: Black Hills-Rapid City Flood". Weatherwise. 65 (3): 10–11. Bibcode:2012Weawi..65c..10P. doi:10.1080/00431672.2012.670069. S2CID   191436462.

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References

44°03′28″N103°17′13″W / 44.05778°N 103.28694°W / 44.05778; -103.28694

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