You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 44.199.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪Blablubbs‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 12:56, 12 May 2024.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪AntiCompositeNumber‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: Visit the FAQ if you are affected .
- Start of block: 13:55, 18 August 2022
- Expiry of block: 13:55, 18 May 2025
Your current IP address is 44.199.189.47. The blocked range is 44.199.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|1972 severe flooding in the Rapid City metropolitan area, South Dakota, USA))
((redirect|Canyon Lake Dam|the dam in Texas|Canyon Dam (Texas)))
((Use mdy dates|date=June 2019))
((Infobox weather event
 |  name                = Black Hills flood of 1972
 |  image               = Rapidcreek1972flood.jpg
 |  caption             = Debris along Rapid Creek after the flood
 ))((Infobox weather event/History
 |  duration            = June 9–10, 1972
 ))((Infobox weather event/Effects
 |  total damages       = 
 |  damages       = $67.5 million (1972 USD)
 |  fatalities    = 238
 |  affected      = [[Rapid City, South Dakota]] area
))((Infobox weather event/Footer))

The '''Black Hills Flood of 1972''', also known as the '''Rapid City Flood''', was the most detrimental flood in [[South Dakota]] history, and one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history. The flood took place on June 9–10, 1972<ref name="NHP1753"/> in the [[Black Hills]] of Western South Dakota. ((convert|15|in|mm)) of rain in a small area over the Black Hills caused [[Rapid Creek (South Dakota)|Rapid Creek]] and other waterways to overflow. Severe flooding of residential and commercial properties in [[Rapid City, South Dakota|Rapid City]] occurred when Canyon Lake Dam became clogged with debris and failed in the late evening hours of June 9 resulting in 238 deaths and 3,057 injuries.<ref>((cite web | title = The 1972 Black Hills-Rapid City Flood Revisited | publisher = United States Geological Survey | access-date = October 15, 2007 | url = http://sd.water.usgs.gov/projects/1972flood/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071009114711/http://sd.water.usgs.gov/projects/1972flood/ | archive-date = October 9, 2007 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all ))</ref> Over 1,335 homes and 5,000 automobiles were destroyed. The value of property damage was estimated to be over US$160 million in 1972 dollars ($((formatprice|((Inflation|US|160000000|1972)))) in ((Inflation-year|US)) dollars((inflation-fn|US))). Flooding also occurred in Battle, Spring, Bear Butte, and Boxelder creeks.<ref name="CWT"/>

==Causes==
A few days before the Rapid City Flood, "earlier rains had left the soil saturated, increasing the amount of runoff of the flood to come."<ref name="CWT"/> On the afternoon of June 9, substantial rains fell on the area, caused by "an almost stationary group of thunderstorms."<ref name="CWT">Carter, Williamson, and Teller</ref>

Additionally, "a strong low-level easterly flow which forced the moist unstable air up-slope on the hills. This sustained [[orographic lift|orographic effect]] helped the air to rise, cool, and release its moisture in repeating thunderstorms. Another contributing factor was the unusually light winds at a higher atmospheric levels which did not disperse the moist air nor move the thunderstorms along to prevent an extreme concentration of rainfall."<ref name="CWT"/>

According to Herbert Thompson the air pattern causing this storm was noticed in big measure over the [[Great Plains]], with a minor scale to the east of the Rockies. There were only what appeared to be light winds, so nothing indicated that there was a huge storm underway. Thompson further indicates that a cold high pressure region was pushed from [[Canada]] into the [[Great Lakes]] region leading into the western part of South Dakota. A "mesoscale cloud mass" from Colorado also moved towards Rapid City.<ref>Thompson 164</ref> One of the cloud masses amplified the "mid-level moisture over Rapid City," while the other mass caused the pressure to stay, as the high pressure pushed downward, thus creating the right conditions to produce rainfall.<ref>Thompson 164–165</ref> The rainfall from the upper "cloud mass" above the Black Hills formed into new smaller masses downwind which reprocessed the rain allowing for the constant rainfall.<ref>Nair, Hjelmfelt, and Pielke 1756</ref> The storm was described by Nair, Hjelmfelt, and Pielke as "convective cells of high precipitation efficiency a characteristic of tropical precipitation systems.<ref name="NHP1753"/> [[Cloud seeding]] experiments being conducted by the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences on clouds west of Rapid City were speculated to have contributed to the unusual amount of rain. However, there is no evidence that the two phenomena were related.<ref name="Dennis">Arnett Dennis</ref>

The immense precipitation was based over the "Rapid, Boxelder, Spring, and Battle Creeks," creating run-off, along these creeks which led to flooding throughout the surrounding areas.<ref name="NHP1753">Nair, Hjelmfelt, and Pielke 1753</ref>

The intense rain began on the afternoon of June 9 and continued until after midnight on June 10. The immense amount of rain the Black Hills received during the thunderstorms ranged from 4 to 15 inches, causing Rapid Creek and surrounding creeks to overflow and creating massive amounts of runoff that resulted in flood waters. The run-off carried rubble to the Canyon Lake Dam creating a barrier in front of its spillway.<ref name="CWT"/> This resulted in the "increase in depth of water behind the dam of 11 to 12 feet," which caused the release of more water adding to the already moving floodwaters.<ref>Thompson 167</ref> The flash flood hit Rapid City the hardest around midnight on June 9; the flood waters also hit the small town of [[Keystone, South Dakota|Keystone]] nearby.<ref name="CWT"/>

==Damage==
[[File:Rapid City SD wea00703.jpg|thumb|300px|Cars jumbled together by the flood]]
The flood caused a tremendous amount of damage. Flood waters displaced large rocks, trees, trailers, and vehicles, and carried homes away.<ref>Thompson 166</ref> In Rapid City the flood resulted in the deaths of "238 including 5 missing," 14 of the deaths were trained professionals.<ref name="RCPL"/> The flood resulted in over 3,000 people being injured. A total of 1,335 homes were ruined, and 2,820 homes were damaged. More than 200 businesses were ruined, and around 5,000 cars were demolished. The damage in Rapid City totaled $66 million in 1972 dollar value.<ref name="RCPL"/> As for Keystone, "eight people were killed and much of the town was washed away."<ref name="CWT"/> The damage in Keystone totaled around $1.5 million.<ref name="RCPL"/> The total cost of the 1972 Black Hills flood totaled $165 million, including infrastructure and utilities. The total amount of rain the Black Hills received was "800,000 acre feet" equal to "1 billion metric tons of water."<ref name="RCPL">[http://www.rapidcitylibrary.org/lib_info/1972flood/index.asp “Rapid City Flood of 1972.”] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210213624/http://www.rapidcitylibrary.org/lib_info/1972Flood/index.asp |date=February 10, 2012 )) RCPL-Rapid City Flood of 1972. Rapid City Library, n.d. Web. October 12, 2012</ref>

The [[National Weather Service]] Office (NWS) in Rapid City in 1972 was taking hourly surface observations, issuing local storm warnings and providing local forecasts to the media. The personnel in Rapid City were not properly trained to make forecasts or use the technologies available to them.<ref>Journal, Rapid City. National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office. June 5, 2012. October 12, 2012.</ref> They lacked access to vital weather information to warn the area citizens.

==Then and now==
((unreferenced section|date=June 2018))
The Rapid City National Weather Service is now a forecast office with a full-time staff of meteorologists who issue both forecasts and warnings for northeastern Wyoming and the western third of South Dakota.  In 1972, the National Weather Service office in Rapid City did not have a [[teleprinter|teletype]] system to broadcast warnings.  They instead used a one-way telephone hotline to the media to broadcast the warnings.  Today warnings are sent to a regional site where they are sent to the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) Weather Wire System satellite.  NWS forecasters use the state radio system to notify [[9-1-1]] dispatchers and emergency personnel.  This warning is also passed on to the [[Emergency Alert System]] (EAS).

In the aftermath of the 1972 flood, short-term and long-term programs were put into effect.  Many businesses were permitted to stay in the [[flood plain]], but houses and motels were either raised or moved due to the likelihood that a flood would occur while a person may be sleeping.  The majority of the flood plain was made into large parks, which have increased in number and have been improved and updated on a continuing basis. Canyon Lake Dam and most bridges were redesigned to prevent debris clogs during flooding.

==Victims==
((Essay-like|section|date=September 2021))
Victims lost precious memories as stated in the Rapid City newspaper.  An excerpt from the newspaper reads, "Operation Family Treasure' may provide hope for people.'  For those who have given up all hope about finding a priceless photo album or sheet of important personal papers there may be a happy ending with "Operation Family Treasure," a clearing house for irreplaceable items run by the Rapid City Jaycees in conjunction with the Office of Civil defense.  Flood disaster victims advised on tax breaks."<ref>[http://www.rcgov.org 29 June 1972.] October 12, 2012.</ref> [[Eldon L. Smith]], a [[South Dakota Senate|South Dakota state senator]], was a victim of the flood.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://sdlegislature.gov/Historical/Legislator/Profile/942|title=Eldon L. Smith|work=[[South Dakota Legislature]]|access-date=March 24, 2024))</ref>

2012 saw the 40 year anniversary of the fateful flood.  Survivors remarked on the horrific events. Rita, who was 20 at the time, described the scene, "There was so many [people] in trees and screaming and crying and the sparks were flying from electric wires, houses were on fire, it was just — it was hell," she says.  Rita was seven months pregnant at the time of the tragedy.  She describes her fears as, "I wouldn't wish that upon nobody," she says. "That's a nightmare and a half to think that you're going to die in water and your mom is gonna go with you and you're trying to do your best to keep your mom alive."  Rita and her mother were swept against a building and thankfully rescued.  There were others with the same experience while others were worse.  Good Samaritans like Alex were left to clean up the mess and search for the less fortunate.  He describes a gruesome scene, "I found a boy about 5 years old," Alex says. "He was dead, laying on some debris. I didn't touch him or nothing, I just went back and told the authorities where he was at. Then I quit."<ref>Ray, Charles Michael. [http://m.npr.org/news/U.S./154576917 40 Years After Killer Flood, A Reshaped City Reflects.] NPR News. June 8, 2012. October 12, 2012.</ref>

===Reactions===
One unidentified resident of Rapid City, which was flooded, spoke to a reporter after the flood.
"...the only thing above water is the hilltops. I guess it just ... I guess we gotta couple troubles."<ref name="Disasters">[https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1974/Disasters/  "Disasters"]</ref>

Another survivor said:
"My house is no more. You can see it over there, there's the, well, there just isn't anything."<ref name="Disasters"/>

And another unidentified survivor added:
"A man knocked at our door and said, 'Get out as fast as you can.' We grabbed the children and my dad's crippled and we picked him up and put him in the car, and just as we drove out the driveway, a big trailer started floating right across the pathway, and we just made it up the hill and that was all it was. Everything was gone."<ref name="Disasters"/>

One source, Sean Potter, Certified Consulting Meteorologist and Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, wrote, "I called my best advisor, Mr. Leonard Swanson, the City Public Works Director, and we met at City Hall. Heavy rains were falling, and Mr. Swanson and I drove to Canyon Lake Park where a city worker and his family lived in the park caretaker's home, immediately below the dam. Swanny ordered the caretaker, a Parks Department employee, to immediately take his family, leave their evening meal on the table and get out of the park. The entire family survived the flood. Not a trace of the home (it was city property) or the contents was ever found.<ref>((cite journal |last=Potter |first=Sean |title=Retrospect: June 9, 1972: Black Hills-Rapid City Flood |journal=Weatherwise |volume=65 |issue=3 |year=2012 |pages=10–11 |doi=10.1080/00431672.2012.670069|s2cid=191436462 ))</ref>

==Notes==
((reflist|33em))

==References==
*Carter, Janet M., Joyce E. Williamson, and Ralph W. Teller. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-037-02/ “The 1972 Black Hills-Rapid City Flood Revisited.”] USGS Science for a Changing World. U.S. Geological Survey, April 2002. Web October 11, 2012.
*Dennis, Arnett. "A Memoir of the Rapid City Flood of 1972" 2010. Print.
*Nair, U.S., Hjelmfelt R. Mark, and Pielke A. Robert, Sr. [http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19980018995&qs=Ns%3DNASA-Center|0%26N%3D4294752466 “Numerical Simulation of the 9–10 June 1972 Black Hills Storm Using CSU RAMS.”] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807183212/http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19980018995&qs=Ns%3DNASA-Center%7C0%26N%3D4294752466 |date=August 7, 2016 )) Monthly Weather Review 125. (1997): 1753–1766. Print
*Taylor, Danielle. "Agency Spotlight: Rapid City Parks and Recreation, South Dakota."''Parks and Recreation'', 50.2(2015):18–19. ''Academic Search Complete.''Web. December 12, 2016.
*Thompson, Herbert J. "The Black Hills Flood" Weatherwise 8 July 2010:162–173. Print.

==External links==
*The [[Rapid City Public Library]] offers an [https://1972flood.omeka.net/ online digital archive] which collects audio and video recordings of survivors, written accounts and photos from survivors, as well as news broadcasts from the 1972 flood.

((coord|44|03|28|N|103|17|13|W|region:US-SD_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title))
((Black Hills, South Dakota))

[[Category:1970s floods in the United States]]
[[Category:1972 natural disasters in the United States]]
[[Category:1972 in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Black Hills]]
[[Category:Dam failures in the United States]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in South Dakota]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

1972 Black Hills flood (edit)
Canyon Lake Dam (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Black Hills, South Dakota (edit)
Template:Both (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite journal (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Convert (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Coord (view source) (protected)
Template:DMCA (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (articles) (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Essay-like (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:FULLROOTPAGENAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Format price (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Format price/digits (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Formatprice (view source) (protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Ifnumber (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Inflation (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Inflation-fn (view source) (extended confirmed protected)
Template:Inflation-year (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Inflation/US (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Inflation/US/dataset (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Inflation/US/startyear (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Inflation/fn (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Inflation/year (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox weather event (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Infobox weather event/Effects (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Infobox weather event/Footer (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Infobox weather event/History (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Infobox weather event/styles.css (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Isnumeric (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Last word (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Redirect (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Template other (view source) (protected)
Template:Unreferenced (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Unreferenced section (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Use mdy dates (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Webarchive (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno (view source) (protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Convert (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Convert/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Convert/text (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Coordinates (view source) (protected)
Module:Coordinates/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:Format link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:InfoboxImage (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Math (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:Redirect hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Webarchive (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Webarchive/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to 1972 Black Hills flood.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Black_Hills_flood"