U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for May 31

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

HISTORIC DELUGE

Profile America — Saturday, May 31st. One of the worst calamities to hit the U.S. happened on this date in 1889 — the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Flood. Torrential rains caused a nearby artificial lake, created for a fishing and hunting resort, to spill over and weaken its earthen dam. When the dam broke, it unleashed 20 million tons of water in a giant wave that roared through Johnstown, killing more than 2,300 men, women and children, and destroying the homes of thousands more. The flood remains one of the nation's most costly, single weather-related disasters. While tornadoes take more lives, flooding is a constant threat. A national annual average of 89 deaths occurred in the years between 1983 and 2012. Johnstown has been spared since 1977, when 85 died. Currently, almost 21,000 people make Johnstown their home. http://famousdaily.com/history/benjamin-towne-publishes-first-daily-newspaper-us.html

Sources:
www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/history.html  
http://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/1936.html  
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats.shtml 
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/4238288.html

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau