The Events That Surround Failure Of The St. Francis Dam

Gerald M. Stern’s novel, The Buffalo Creek Disaster, helps students better understand the civil procedure process by describing the process through an actual case Stern himself litigated. The case began in 1972 after a dam collapsed in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia, killing 125 people and destroying many homes. Other than property damage and loss of loved ones, those who survived suffered what Stern referred to as psychic impairment, or mental suffering. Stern’s lawsuit involved 625 plaintiffs suing the Pittston Coal Group, or the stockholder of the Buffalo Mining Company, for compensatory and punitive damages. Stern had to choose a court and a judge, decide how much relief the plaintiffs were seeking, depose witnesses, and work with the defendant’s counsel

It didn't take long for the South Fork dam to become so overwhelmed that it broke and dumped water onto the town causing the deaths of 2,200 people. This was not the first problem they had with the dam though; structural problems with the dam were not a new development. Only two years after the finishing of the dam 2 leaks were discovered before the dam was even put into its full usage. They were forced to empty the dam so they could repair it. The dam suffered a major break on June 10, 1862, when the up-stream portion of the stone culvert running under the dam collapsed (Haddock, Vikki). There was little damage to property downstream, but a large section of the dam over the damaged portion of the culvert collapsed and was washed away. They dam was then closed and left with the large gap in it because of financial reasons until 1875 when the Pennsylvania Railroad sold the dam and also 500 acres to Benjamin Ruff who wanted to turn the area into a summer resort. Ruff's plan was to fill in the gap left in the dam and allow the lake behind it to refill to make a resort and the remaining water would run-off he had decided to sell the valves used to control the run-off for scrap metal (Johannson, Shelley). Ruff had hired a man to fill the gap who had some experience building railway embankments but no experience with dams. The plan was to add a double thickness of hemlock pilings was placed across

The story Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair, Patricia Polacco teaches readers about a boy named Eli and his aunt Charlotte, or as Eli calls her aunt Chip. Eli lives in a T.V. obsessed town where everybody never turns their heads from their television screen. When Eli visits aunt Chip one day and listens to her stories he asks “Where do all of them stories come from, Aunt Chip?” then aunt chip mentions books and when Eli doesn't know Aunt chip goes crazy she’s see’s the town in shambles. Aunt chip teaches Eli how to read and then he goes to school and the kids also catch on. When they go looking for books Eli see’s one called “MOBY DICK” and he takes it but the wall of books it’s inside collapses with water a tears down the old T.V. tower,which brings the town outside because their T.V.s have gone out. The town is furious but when the books exploded from the dam they started raining down on the town giving them just enough

The Grand Coulee Dam, located in Eastern Washington, was one of controversy, risk, and a point of no return. While the water captured made the desert area blossom in agriculture and it powered some large cities, it created a sense of accomplishment, that humans can control Mother Nature. While many people were very excited for this new construction – which gives power and resources - at the time, some thought it should not be allowed, they are not proud of containing the Columbia River. In this analysis, I am going to focus on the economic and social effects that the Grand Coulee Dam created in its build.

The article “Down go the dams” by Jane C.Marks aim to provide an informative view on the current pending issue on Dams. The article starts out my mentioning the important nature of dams in our society. For example, Jane C.Marks states that today about 800,000 dams operate worldwide as well as the fact that most were built in the past century, primarily after World War II. Furthermore, the author lays down informative facts about dams such as the fact that dams control flooding and their reservoirs provide a reliable supply of water for irrigation, drinking and recreation which are all very important to society. In an economic standpoint, although it is very high maintenance dams provide jobs for people. The

This discipline i choose for my career field description was structural engineering with is a branch of civil engineering. Structural engineering focuses on the framework of structures and designing structures to withstand the stresses and pressures of their environment and remain safe, stable, and secure throughout their use. In other words, structural engineers make sure that buildings don't fall down and bridges don't collapse. Structural engineering is among the oldest types of engineering, dating back to the first instance of tree branches being lashed together with vines to make a shelter. Throughout history, people have been designing and building increasingly larger and more sophisticated structures, from small huts to the International Space Station.

The 1930s were not for a moment easy since the Great Depression, which was the utmost absolutely horrible stock-market crash the U.S. has ever dealt with. But when the government planned to start building glorious architectures, people had jobs that paid exceptionally well and could afford to own a home in “depressed” America. When President Hoover was nominated president, he tried to change the ways of the depression, by increasing tariffs so imported goods would stay away, which never helped at all (Owen). Sadly, President Hoover should have just focused on helping the people, like increasing taxes that would cause the wealthy to more, and he would give the people some money back.

The Three Gorges Dam is an unfinished project which will be the largest dam ever constructed on the planet Earth. It is situated in China on the third largest river in the world – the Yangtze. The dam has been debated over since the 1919 and is still a hot topic of debate because of its many pros and cons. In 1994 construction began on the dam, and it is expected to be finished by the year 2009. The massive dimensions of the dam are mind boggling and its functions – if the dam actually works – are truly remarkable; however, with such a large structure also comes difficulties, sacrifices, and cynics. The goal of this essay is to lend an understanding of the dam itself, the prospective benefits of

However, the dams were of faulty construction. Dam number one which caused the flooding was constructed of coarse mining refuse that Pittston had dumped into the Middle Fork of Buffalo Creek starting in 1968. This dam failed first on the heels of heavy rains. The water from Dam number three then took out dams number two and then number one. Dam number three had simply

Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 : it established federal standards in the construction of refuse piles and dams by coal companies but these standards only protected the coal miners (and not the public who lived around the coal mines) while he was working.

The Johnstown flood of 1889 is often remembered as the worst disaster that was caused by dam failure in America’s history. Over 2000 lives were lost, and about 17 million dollars in property damage was done to the town of Johnstown. Many of the leading industrialists of the 19th century were members of the club that owned the South Fork dam in 1889, drawing in nationwide attention. The relief effort was one of the first huge non-wartime disasters for the American Red Cross. Once again in the years 1936 and 1977 similar flooding would occur, ravaging the town of Johnstown, wreaking havoc on the lives of civilians.

President Roosevelt wanted to make big projects to help our state get out the of great depression. He created New Deal projects which would give more jobs. The New Deal project of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Deception Pass Bridge, and Grand Coulee Dam provided Washington with jobs.

There has been a terrific incident in 1889 where Johnstown Pennsylvania had a massive flood which 2,209 people were killed in total and estimated $17 million property was damaged. The main cause of the flood was the dam failure of the Southern Fork Dam on Little Conemaugh River located 14 miles upstream from Johnstown. The event was said the worst dam tragedy in the United States history.

“Johnstown flood” is a short story written by David McCullough. This story talks about the miraculous survival of a little girl named Gertrude. Gertrude’s sheer luck got her up the hill safely. Of course, with the help of several people she met along the way. I think that this is an extraordinary act of how worked together and some people put his/her life at risk to save a small child that they didn’t even knew. I fell that this is a great example of how human beings come together in times of need and extreme danger and in the way that we try to protect ourselves from disaster.

The dams built for irrigation are often diversion dams, which are usually constructed to stop the natural course of the river for sending the water to a different place of need. To control flooding in certain areas, detention dams are constructed to either stop or slow the flow of the water in a river or stream. These dams have been constructed worldwide for drinking water, flood control, drinking water, hydropower, irrigation, navigation, and water storage. Structures such as towers or bridges do not even experience a fraction of the forces acting on that of a dam holding back the flow of a river or a lake. There are numerous factors one must consider before the construction of a dam. The basic concept that one must understand before the construction of a dam, are the forces that act on a dam. There are tremendous forces acting on the material used in the construction of the dam. For example, concrete is an essential material for the construction of a dam and factors such as its compressive strength must be considered when a huge mass of water acts on it. Furthermore, to construct any dam, engineers must consult a variety of criteria. For example, flowing water tends to erode everything eventually no matter the material whether it be soil or the concrete used to construct the dam. Civil engineers who specialize in water resource engineering are tasked with designing a dam that can