[The following is in regards to the failure of the Williamsburg Dam. Context, courtesy of Wikipedia: “On the morning of May 16, 1874, a flood along Williamsburg's Mill River claimed 139 lives and left nearly 800 victims homeless throughout Hampshire County. The deluge occurred when the Williamsburg Reservoir Dam unexpectedly burst, sending a twenty-foot wall of water surging into the valley below.”]
With only seconds to make an escape, many people who saw the flood coming were simply frozen from fright. The Springfield Daily Republican provided one such example: “Miss Carrie Bonney and Mrs. Sarah J. Ryan and child, who were among those swept away and lost, had ample time to save themselves, but were completely stupefied with terror, and, with a fixed stare, stood motionless.”
In such an emergency there was no “correct” response. Some who tried to run for their lives were snatched up by the water or crushed by heavy debris. Other [sic] were swept away only to regain their senses in the arms of a stout tree. Many died in the “safety” of their own homes when the structures simply collapsed. One family was lucky to survive when apple trees in the front yard caught so much debris that they diverted the flood, preventing it from carrying their house away. An accountant learned the hard way that it was not safe to go back to the office in an effort to rescue the books. And a worker paid with his life trying to retrieve a pair of boots.
Source:
Pletcher, Larry. “Failure of the Williamsburg Dam.” Massachusetts Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Insiders Guide, 2006. 52. Print.
Further Reading:
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