SATURDAY, MAY 31: JOHNSTOWN FLOOD
Profile America Saturday, May 31st. Today marks the anniversary of the
one of the worst disasters to hit the U.S. -- the Johnstown Flood of 1889,
in Pennsylvania. Heavy rains burst a nearby dam forming a lake for a
fishing and hunting retreat. When the dam broke, it unleashed 20 million
tons of water in a giant wave that roared through Johnstown, killing more
than 2,300 men, women and children, and destroying the homes of thousands
more. The flood remains one of the nation's most costly, single
weather-related disasters. In the first seven years of this decade, floods
across the U.S. killed some 278 people. Property damage is estimated at
over $123 billion mostly in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. You can find
these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at
http://www.census.gov
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the
U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments
ready to air on a monthly CD or on the Internet at
http://www.census.gov
(look under the "Newsroom" button). For further information, contact Rick
Reed at +1-301-763-2812, fax at +1-301-457-3670, or e-mail at
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