Remembering the victims of the Buffalo Creek disaster.

[NNadir]

No two words carry more drama and pain in the coalfields. They symbolize all the dangers of surface mining. They speak of the callous attitude the mines sometimes show towards those who live nearby. On February 26, 1972, a dam constructed of coal waste broke loose near the head of Buffalo Creek. The poorly constructed dam was holding back a lake of water used for cleaning coal. The lake was perched between two hills. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of black water rushed down the valley like a tidal wave. The death toll totaled 125. Hundreds of homes were swept away.

Now residents of the coalfields use "Buffalo Creek" to express their fears of possible floods from the ponds at the ends of valley fills. Others fear a collapse of similar dams made of coal waste that hold back large ponds of cleaning water in places like Laurel Creek, Ragland and Lick Creek. The federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was enacted as a result of Buffalo Creek. The federal and state laws are supposed to prevent any more deadly floods. So far no dams such as the one at Buffalo Creek have broken. However, more and more coalfield residents believe that the valley fills are exacerbating floods.

http://www.wvcoalfield.com/newpage3.htm

Anybody up for phasing out coal?

No?

What a surprise!

[Old and In the Way]

1. I remember writing a paper about this disaster.....

IIRC, the CEO of the coalmining company termed it "an act of God". I think there were a series of dams built one behind the other...when the top most dam breeched, it was a cascading effect. Really horrible event.

[saltpoint]

3. - - -

:thumbsup:

[saltpoint]

2. Old and In the Way is exactly right on all counts.

I think Nixon was in China at the time it happened.

One of my friends recommended a book called EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH by Kai T. Erickson on this tragedy. I bought it & read it, and it's still on my shelf.

[NNadir]

4. I wonder why it's so forgotten.