Schultz House after Johnstown Flood. This house, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, was skewered by a tree, upturned and moved by the force of the Johnstown Flood of 1899. Those inside at the time, including the owner John Schultz, all survived. The man is standing on debris from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). On 31 May 1889, following heavy rains, the South Fork Dam failed on the Little Conemaugh River, 23 kilometres upstream from Johnstown. The failure occurred at 15:10 local time, releasing millions of tons of water from the dam's reservoir (Lake Conemaugh). Around an hour later, a wall of debris and water engulfed Johnstown, travelling at around 60 kilometres per hour. Over 2200 people died, the worst US disaster at that time. Photographed by US photographer George Barker (1844-1894). |