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<br />TERROR IN THE NIGHT!
<br />
<br />The flash flood that swept down
<br />from the Black Hills into the resort
<br />community of Rapid City, South
<br />Dakota (population 43,000), on the
<br />night of June 9-10, followed a clas-
<br />sically sudden and terrifying pat-
<br />tern for these killer torrents.
<br />
<br />Despite the fact that many people
<br />fled to safety after hearing radio
<br />and TV warnings from the Na-
<br />tional Weather Service and slate
<br />and local public-safety officials.
<br />many others were trapped. asleep in
<br />their beds or perhaps driving along
<br />a road, when the raging waters
<br />struck. Some ignored the warnings.
<br />
<br />As do so many flash floods, this
<br />one did its worst in the middle of
<br />the night. It struck an area where
<br />not in living memory had so-con-
<br />centrated a downpour falTen in so
<br />short a time. (Rainfall totaling 15
<br />inches-nearly equal to the yearly
<br />average-fell in only six hours at
<br />some spots in the creek basins just
<br />above and west of Rapid City.) A
<br />number of the victims were out-of-
<br />state visitors unfamiliar with the
<br />terrain and unaware of possible
<br />sources of warnings. A dam on
<br />Canyon Lake on the western out-
<br />skirts of Rapid City gave way about
<br />10:45 p.m. This produced a mo.
<br />mentary surge or surges of water
<br />that contributed to an unknown ex-
<br />tent to a catastrophe already inevi.
<br />table because of the sheer ,,'olurne
<br />of water in the drainage basin.
<br />
<br />Amazement. shock, and horror
<br />were standard reactions reported by
<br />those engulfed who miraculously
<br />survived. or who looked on as nor.
<br />mally picturesque creeks were
<br />transformed into roaring monsters.
<br />Perhaps the best way to tell the
<br />story is by a review of accounts by
<br />newspaper reporters at the scene of
<br />the worst individual flood disaster
<br />since spring flooding in the Missis-
<br />sippi Valley in 1927 killed 313.
<br />(Two weeks after the Rapid City
<br />flood. known dead totaled 226, with
<br />58 still missing. Property damage
<br />was estimated at 100 million dol-
<br />lars.)
<br />What follows are condensations
<br />and excerpts from stories filed by
<br />newsmen at the scene of the disas.
<br />ter. The goal in presenting them
<br />here is to convey to others what to
<br />expect in future flash-flood situa-
<br />tions, and to encourage swift re-
<br />sponse to warnings when issued-
<br />anywhere, anytime.
<br />
<br />/errv Mashek, Rapid Citv "/our-
<br />lIaf"--':'For me it started as ~ort of a
<br />lark. At about 8 p.m. there were re.
<br />ports of high water along Rimrock
<br />Highway \vest of Rapid City. We
<br />decided to go up for some pictures.
<br />I knew it was raining hard, but
<br />there didn't seem to be any real
<br />danger. The water from Rapid
<br />Creek was running across the road
<br />in some places, but our pickup
<br />truck made it through in pretty
<br />good shape. ~hen it started to look
<br />
<br />more serious. We kept heading to-
<br />ward Hisega (a town 10 miles west
<br />of Rapid City).
<br />Then the rain really hit. We
<br />watched in amazement as a small
<br />roadside rivulet turned into a four-
<br />foot-wide torrent. We headed back,
<br />but were hailed with olher vehicles
<br />by a three-foot wall of water spill-
<br />ing across the highway. At least one
<br />bridge was out. We decided to wait
<br />in the pickup and hoof it into town
<br />in the morning.
<br />Rapid Creek, about 40 feet off to
<br />the right. sounded like a freight
<br />train passing in the night. The nor-
<br />mally dear and placid creek was
<br />swollen to a torrent more Ihan 150
<br />feet wide. We could hear people
<br />trapped in houses on the other side
<br />of the creek calling plaintively for
<br />help. It was pitch black: rain was
<br />falling in sheets. All we could do
<br />was listen. How many were swept
<br />to their deaths there I'll never
<br />know.
<br />The horror of life torn apart took
<br />its first hold on me.
<br />At dawn we decided to hike to-
<br />ward Rapid City about three miles
<br />east. The devastation was unbeliev-
<br />able as we picked our way down
<br />this major Black Hills highway.
<br />Gigantic blocks of asphalt and con-
<br />crete were strewn across what had
<br />been the roadbed. Bridge structures
<br />were ripped and dangling.
<br />Mud was everywhere. Once beau.
<br />tiful homes had been obliterated.
<br />Articles from a shattered world lay
<br />scattered . . . here a shoe, there a
<br />table top, beside us a crushed toy.
<br />As we slogged down the highway
<br />we came to the fish hatchery on the
<br />outskirts of the city. Rearing ponds
<br />were under water. offices smashed.
<br />We could see where the creek had
<br />come out of its banks by around
<br />400 feet.
<br />The horror took a firmer grip on
<br />me. Here and there little knots of
<br />people stared blankly at their
<br />homes. . or where their homes
<br />had been. Several survivors were
<br />perched on roofs.
<br />Near once.beautiful Canyon
<br />Lake Park the nauseating smell of
<br />propane gas from ruptured tanks
<br />was almost overpowering. Canyon
<br />Lake was gone. Rapid Creek rushed
<br />through a sea of mud. automobiles
<br />and home furnishings. 1t looked as
<br />though an insane giant had slapped
<br />his palm into the lakebed, emptying
<br />it. The dam at the lower end had
<br />been ripped from its stone anchors.
<br />And the horror brought my gut
<br />up into my throat. The park was
<br />like a desolate moonscape. . . giant
<br />trees uprooted. picnic tables. play-
<br />ground equipment. articles of
<br />everyday life choking the land. The
<br />beautifully manicured grass had
<br />huge gouges in it. Where there
<br />wasn"t mud, huge rocks lay about.
<br />And then we saw it. A body lay
<br />half-hidden in a jumble of wreck-
<br />age. And the horror of life torn
<br />
<br />apart was the only thing on my
<br />mind. 1 didn't want to see any
<br />more.
<br />Harold Hjggi!l.~. Rapid City
<br />"/ollrnal"-l went to the Fifth
<br />Street bridge after II :30 p.m. Fri-
<br />day to get a picture of the flooding.
<br />r figured my newspaper would want
<br />some shots because it was said to
<br />be one of the worst floods in years.
<br />With my 35-millimeter camera
<br />and a strobe light around my neck
<br />I sloshed lip the sidewalk in sneak-
<br />ers and jeans. When I got to the
<br />bridge, water was flowing around
<br />the ends and ncross the road. I took
<br />a few shots and stood back for a
<br />moment.
<br />r was standing in the middle of
<br />the road when a four-foot bank of
<br />waler came down the creek. It ex-
<br />tended 50 yards on either side of
<br />the creek levee. Riding on the large
<br />wave like a surfboard was a blue,
<br />30 to 40-foot house trailer.
<br />I tried to take a quick shot of the
<br />oncoming bank of water. but water
<br />rushing against my legs made me
<br />unsteady. r had to grab a nearby
<br />mailbox post to keep from falling.
<br />The water was now a little higher
<br />than my waist, the clIrrent strong.
<br />By hand-pulling along a fence and
<br />then the bridge I worked my way to
<br />higher ground. Pieces of wood and
<br />other debris kept hitting my body
<br />and throwing me off balance.
<br />1 trudged off to the "Journal"
<br />office. The staffers were all out cov.
<br />ering the flood. I walked to the fire
<br />station. Fire Chief Ken Johnson
<br />asked if anybody wanted to help
<br />rescue people. I answered yes.
<br />along with four other men. Two
<br />firemen had command of om team.
<br />We climbed aboard a truck_ The
<br />driver headed for First Street to in-
<br />vestigate a report of children
<br />stranded on a house trailer.
<br />We shouted and whistled for a
<br />few minutes, but there was no re-
<br />sponse. With all of us hanging onto
<br />a safety line we waded down the
<br />railroad tracks into deeper water.
<br />Nothing. We inched back to the
<br />truck. Faint shouts were heard from
<br />where we had just been. We waded
<br />back. The person in trouble was a
<br />middle-nged man in slight shock.
<br />The two professional firemen got
<br />to him.
<br />We returned to the station and
<br />ate sandwiches and doughnuts.
<br />Six buildings were blazing along
<br />the creek. Firemen couldn't get to
<br />them because of the high water.
<br />Also, the fire chief had decided
<br />rescue missions were more impor-
<br />tant than burning buildings.
<br />The next task lasted until dawo-
<br />to ride around the city looking for
<br />people in trouble. We helped some
<br />persons. to land from practic<llly
<br />submerged cars. gave out sand-
<br />wiches to the hungry, asked ques-
<br />tions about the missing. We walked
<br />in cold, knee-deep water ;lmong
<br />flooded and wrecked houses.
<br />
<br />Shining flashlights into dark, sog-
<br />gy houses we discovered a variety
<br />of forgotten pets. a frightened 83-
<br />year-old woman, a very young baby
<br />all alone, and a woman face down
<br />in a flooded basement.
<br />With dawn, I decided to leave
<br />my group and see what was left of
<br />my apartment. I expected to see it
<br />flooded. I walked along the bank
<br />to where my house had been. My
<br />house and two next to it had
<br />burned. Even the ashes were swept
<br />away. .lust about everything r
<br />owned was gone, except what I
<br />wore and a mud-clogged camera.
<br />Rohert Hagen and Dale Fethl'r-
<br />lillf,:. A1i/llleapolis "Trihll1le"-A
<br />terrifying ride down a rain-swollen
<br />South Dakota creek brought death
<br />to three Twin Cities youths who
<br />were among six area young people
<br />on a camping trip and high-school
<br />graduation party in the Black Hills
<br />Friday night.
<br />The three ,survivors told a har-
<br />rowing tale of being trapped in their
<br />floating cahin, which was swept
<br />away and demolished in weekend
<br />flooding near Keystone, S.D.. 20
<br />miles southwest of Rapid City. The
<br />six had left in a van for Keystone
<br />soon after graduation. Becallse of
<br />heavy rains, they rented a cabin
<br />Friday night inslead of pitching
<br />their tent. A small creek ran behind
<br />the cabin.
<br />Bruce Glover, 17, one of the sur-
<br />vivors. said the young people heard
<br />water running later and "tried to
<br />get the cabin door open, but the
<br />current was so strong we couldn't
<br />push it open. So we broke a win-
<br />dow. But just as we were ahom to
<br />get out, a car came floating down
<br />and smashed into the window."
<br />Water already was knee-deep in-
<br />side the cabin. Glover said. "We all
<br />got onto the bed and hung onto the
<br />mattress. hoping it would float. But
<br />the cabin slarted crunching and it
<br />broke away from the foundation
<br />and_started drifting away."
<br />The cabin floated for a few min-
<br />utes, then "a wall came apart and
<br />in another few minutes, the mat-
<br />tress sank. We tried to hang onto
<br />each other," Glover recalled, "but
<br />the current just tore us apart. I
<br />think I floated about half a mile."
<br />The three "iho drowned ......ere not
<br />seen again by their companions
<br />after the mattress sank.
<br />Glover finally climbed onto the
<br />roof of a gas station. The other two
<br />survivors. Michael Kovacovich and
<br />William Gagne, managed to reach
<br />the roof of a souvenir shop.
<br />Kovacovich said he was being
<br />smothered beneath debris as he was
<br />carried along. "I thought I was
<br />going to die and then 1 popped to
<br />the surface. I grabbed hold of
<br />something. It was a rainspout, so I
<br />climbed up on the roof," which
<br />Gagne already had reached.
<br />"It was just sheer luck that we
<br />got out," said Kovacovich.
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