Steven Otfinoski - Can You Survive the Johnstown Flood?: An Interactive History Adventure

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YOU are living in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889. One day at the end of May, heavy rains fall on the area, causing a nearby dam to burst. Within minutes, a huge wall of water rushes through town, washing away everything in its path. Will you be able to get out of the way before the flood sweeps you away too?

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your devices back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

Natural disasters are often unavoidable. But some past disasters could have been prevented and lives and property spared. What happened in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on May 31, 1889, was one such unnatural disaster. It was the result of neglect and greed rather than the powerful forces of nature.

The roots of this tragedy started nearly 50 years earlier. In the 1840s the state of Pennsylvania built an earthen dam across the Conemaugh River. The resulting system between the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The city of Johnstown lay just 14 miles (23 kilometers) downriver from the dam. Johnstown was the home of the Cambria Iron Company, which before the Civil War (186165) was the biggest ironworks in America.

In 1857 the state sold the dam and reservoir to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The dam steadily declined over time, and repairs made by the railroad were inadequate.

In 1879 millionaire Benjamin Ruff bought the property. He turned it into a summer resort for the industry owners of Pittsburgh. He named it the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. The founding members included wealthy men such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry C. Frick, and Andrew Mellon. The club rebuilt the existing dam, creating a larger lake where the reservoir had stood.

The new Lake Conemaugh was used by club members and their families for boating, fishing, and swimming. However, the club members did little to maintain the dam. Over time, it continued to deteriorate.

A few people in Johnstown saw the dam as a danger. Daniel J. Morrell, president of the Cambria Iron Company, insisted that the dam needed to be restructured. He even offered to do the job himself. But the club members showed little concern.

Morrell died in 1885. That same year, the area saw heavy spring rains and flooding on the Conemaugh River. Flooding returned in 1887 and 1888. But the people of Johnstown were used to spring floods and accepted them as a part of life.

Thursday, May 30, 1889, was Decoration Day, which today is known as Memorial Day. The city was in a happy mood with flags, banners and flowers everywhere, recalled one of the citys ministers.

Rain begins to fall that afternoon and continues through the night. At dawn on May 31, 23-year-old John Parke, an at the South Fork Club, is measuring the water at the dam. He finds that it has risen 2 feet (0.6 meter). He realizes that if the water reaches the top of the dam, the structure will crumble and burst. But theres little he can do to stop it.

By late morning, Johnstowns streets are flooded from the heavy rains. But people arent panicking. Theyre used to moving furniture to the second floor of their homes and businesses to prevent water damage.

At 3:10 p.m. the dam at South Fork bursts. At least 20 million tons of water from Lake Conemaugh rushes down the valley in a 40-foot (12-m) wave of destruction.

Three small communities are in the floods path before it will hit Johnstown. At Mineral Point, nearly every home is washed away by the flood. East Conemaugh is next. A train station is located there, and several passenger and freight trains sit in the station yard.

Youre in the path of the flood and must find a way to survive. What are you going to do before the flood strikes?

It is just after 3:00 p.m. on May 31, 1889. You and your new husband, John, are sitting on the Day Express train at the East Conemaugh station. The train cant move because the tracks have been washed out further down the line. Until theyre repaired, youre stuck. You should be upset and angry, but youre not.

While other passengers wander around the tracks in the rain, you and John sit on the train, holding hands. You talk about all the wonderful things youll do on your honeymoon in Philadelphia when you finally get there.

Suddenly you hear the shrill shriek of a train whistle. Youve heard train whistles before, but this one is extremely loud and continues endlessly. Then the conductor comes running into the car.

Everyone off the train! he cries. Get to the hill!

Whats happened? John asks.

The engineer says the dam at South Fork has burst! he replies and runs into the next car.

You grab Johns hand and follow the other passengers out into the pouring rain.

You see a throng of people rushing uphill to higher ground. You start after them but suddenly stop.

My handbag. I left it on the seat, you say. My grandmothers wedding ring is in it.

The ring is a precious family that is now your wedding ring. However, its a little too small, and you took it off after the wedding. You planned to get it resized at a jewelers shop in Philadelphia.

Ill go back for it, says John. Itll only take a minute.

John dashes back to the train. But as he enters the car, a towering wall of water descends on the station yard. It the train you were on and everything else in its path.

A man standing by seizes your hand. Youve got to run! he cries. He pulls you forward uphill. You never see your dear John alive again. For the sake of a ring, you have lost the man you love.

THE END

Forget the ring, you tell John. Theres no time to waste.

Together, hand in hand, you run for the hillside. But an obstacle blocks your path. Its another train, four cars long.

You see a few people crawling under it to get to the other side. Others are scrambling up the side of the train and climbing over the top. Still others are running down the tracks to get around the train. What will you and John do? Theres no time to lose!

You and John run down the length of the cars to get to the other side. Breathless, you make it around the last car, only to find another obstacle in your path.

Its a ditch about 10 feet (3 m) wide, half-filled with rainwater. Its too wide to jump over. You turn and see a long wooden plank by the ditch. Maybe its long enough to use as a bridge across the ditch. The two of you grasp the plank, but its too heavy to lift by yourselves.