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City fathers changed the Town's name to "The Friendly City". But during the night of July 20, 1977 and the early hours of the following day, this sense of security vanished. Stationary clouds dumped nearly nine inches of rain on parts of the Cone- mough River Basin in an 8-hour period. Flood channels designed to handle once-in- a-century rainfall proved inadequate. Parts of Johnstown were inundated by eight feet of water. Although there was no loss of life reported, homes and businesses, mainline railroad tracks, highways, steel mills and coal mines suffered major d~- ages. The town of Robbinsville was evacuted and the people did not return. It is an abondoned community. The plant of the Bethlehem Steel Company was hard hit, and 2200 people lost their jobs. The damages were the most extensive in Johnstown since the 1936 flood, after which the Corps of Engineers spent $7 million of tax revenue funds for preventing future flood damage. What precautions did the local residents take to avoid such tragedies in future years? A few left town; however, most resi- dents had little practical choice but to remain--even if they wished to relocate to a different town--because of the economics of making such a move. So, most of them repaired their buildings or rebuilt in the same location. I I I Charleston, West Virginia. In July 1961, 20 persons drowned in a flash flood in Charleston, West Virginia. Because of the steep hills in the area, the stormwater passed through so rapidly that many persons were unable to escape. Approximately 1,500 persons were homeless, 138 houses were destroyed and 1,374 dam- aged extensively. Four small business establishments were destroyed, and 25 dam- aged; and one church was destroyed. In 1973, another heavy rainstorm hit the area, causing flooding and mudslides. One of the mudslides covered a home, killing three children. Mudslides remain a serious, recurring stormwater problem in the Charles- ton area. I I I I Rapid City, South Dakota. During its 100-year history, Rapid City, South Dakota has had three floods categorized as greater than the 100-year recurrence event. The most devasting hit the area in June, 1972 when torrential rains fell on the eastern slopes of the Black Hills. Rainfall amounts of 14 inches were measured in some areas. As the runoff rushed from the higher elevations of the Hills, resi- dential areas and business sections--many of which were located in the floodplains of Rapid Creek and tributary streams--were quickly and unexpectedly smashed by the flood waters. The "once-in-a-century" weather conditions caused flash flooding that killed 238 persons and made thousands homeless. More than $100 million property damage was caused by the flood in a four-county area of which Rapid City was the focal point. This second worst flood disaster in the Nation's history destroyed 600 houses and damaged another 930. Additionally, 35 businesses were destroyed and another 242 damaged. More than 5,000 automobiles were destroyed or damaged and numerous mobile homes and bridges were swept away. Uprooting of trees and utility lines, explosions, fires, landslides, and loss of electric power, communication facilities and natural gas supply compounded the flood problems. I I I I I I Denver, Colorado. Fourteen persons were killed in Denver's first recorded flood, in 1864; and an estimated one-million dollars property damages were sus- tained along Cherry Creek. Twelve other major floods hit the Denver area during the next 100 years. In June 1965, Denver's most damaging flood struck along the South Platte River, triggered by heavy flows from several tributaries. This 1965 "flood-of-record" killed 7 persons and injured 323 others. Records show that 2,616 families suffered losses of some kind, and that 478 business establishments were destroyed. Estimates of damage totaled $322 million. Agricultural losses were only $3 million. I I Loveland, Colorado. Another Colorado tragedy taking a heavy toll of human life began on July 31, 1976 along the 30-mile long Big Thompson Canyon in the Rocky 30 I I I I