John Papendick: The night water overwhelmed Rapid City
It was one of the most horrible nights in U.S. history, and it happened in South Dakota almost 50 years ago.
The June 9, 1972, Rapid City and Black Hills flood changed lives forever. It was one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history. From newspaper reports, here are some of the staggering numbers from that horrible event:
3,057: Injured.
2,952: National Guardsmen helped police and firefighters in the weeks after the flood.
2,820: Homes damaged.
1,335: Homes destroyed.
238: People dead.
236: Businesses damaged.
165: Million dollars of damage, including $35.4 million to roads and bridges. The federal government sent $170 million to help with urban renewal, business loans and repairs.
70: Feet or more in the tops of trees where clothing could be seen.
66: Last month, the South Dakota Hydrology Conference in Rapid City brought together 1972 flood survivors for a panel discussion. The Rapid City Journal reported that one panelist recalled being a 15-year-old newspaper delivery boy in Rapid City in 1972 and 66 homes on his newspaper route were destroyed that night. Another panelist said streetlights illuminated a wall of water tearing down Jackson Boulevard in Rapid City that looked like a spillway.
40: Mph, the speed estimated that some trees, light poles, vehicles and buildings were moving in the floodwaters that night.
36: Businesses destroyed.
20: Years later, one Rapid City couple recounted in a newspaper account how they had awoken to floodwaters nearing the top of their bed. They waded to their bedroom window to find themselves and their 2-month-old puppy in the middle of a raging river. They all survived by escaping through that window and eventually grabbing onto trees.
Meanwhile, a Keystone couple recalled making it up a hill to escape floodwaters and to spend the night at the Mount Rushmore observatory with hundreds of other survivors. At dawn, they recalled seeing water pouring off George Washington’s cheeks on Mount Rushmore as if he were crying.
15: Inches of rain in six hours.
11:47: P.m. on June 9, the lights went out in Rapid City.
10:45: P.m. on June 9, the Canyon Lake dam broke, sending a wall of water racing toward Rapid City. It was reported earlier that heavy rains caused the nearby Dark Canyon stream’s water level to raise 4 feet in one minute. That water eventually spilled into Canyon Lake.
8: Miles of destruction. Damage could be found throughout the Black Hills, but it was highly evident in that extremely destructive path along Rapid Creek.
6: Years after the flood, more than 1,000 families and 200 businesses had been evacuated from the floodplain and relocated.
5: Floodwaters stacked destroyed vehicles five-high in some places.
1: Billion metric tons of floodwaters estimated.
Long-time South Dakota journalist John Papendick is a freelance writer, public speaker and seeker of new life experiences. Email: papendickjohn@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: John Papendick column The night water overwhelmed Rapid City
