The Buffalo Creek Flood

 

Comments:  Greed was the blame for the dam collapse, so sad!

Historian John Alexander Williams once wrote: "In West Virginia, history often repeats itself. Perhaps the fact that our history is so painful explains why it is so poorly understood." Taking these words to heart, we set out to remember and re-examine the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster on its 25th anniversary. The disaster had such far-reaching effects, we wanted to approach it from several different angles. Choosing a victim, a lawyer, a psychologist, an environmental inspector, and a rescue worker, the staff unlocked important lessons, vivid memories and a lot of tears. Interviewers were somewhat surprised at the range of emotions displayed all these years later, but as we soon learned, 25, 50 or however many years later, those who were touched directly or indirectly by the horrible black waters will never forget. And many will never forgive. In addition, we wanted to examine the chances of history repeating itself. Coal-waste impoundments several times larger than Buffalo Creek still dot Appalachia, particularly West Virginia, but new laws, brought on by Buffalo Creek, are now on the books. The experts say the people in the coalfields are safe, but for many years prior to the flood, those same words rang through the hollow known to history books, law journals and environmental studies as Buffalo Creek

Sunday, Feb. 23:
A man-made disaster
Twenty-five years ago, a dam washed away the lives of 125 people

Families cannot forget the day when their worlds were turned upside down.

After the flood, the legal battle began

Dennis and Margie Prince ran toward the hillside when they saw a roof careening down Buffalo Creek the morning of Feb. 26, 1972.

Monday, Feb. 24:'Disaster syndrome'
Psychologist recalls the feelings of the survivors

In the wake of the Buffalo Creek catastrophe, psychiatrists, psychologists and pastors converged on the ravaged valley to help survivors cope with the emotional havoc that follows enormous tragedy.

Tuesday, Feb. 25:Agencies failed to protect people, inspector recalls

In 1972, when the Buffalo Creek disaster occurred, Mount Hope native Jack Spadaro was a 23-year-old engineer teaching at West Virginia University's School of Mines.

Wednesday, Feb. 26:
'People felt guilty because they were alive'
Survivor speaks of losing her parents

At first, Carol Hoosier said she did not want to discuss the Buffalo Creek disaster and what it did to her family.

Thursday, Feb. 27:
Beyond comprehension
Buffalo Creek devastation 'indescribable'

Nelson Sorah saw Buffalo Creek through the eyes of both a reporter and a National Guard officer.

Time doesn't erase horror's images

Twenty-five years to the day after he and his family scrambled up a Logan County hillside to escape the killing waters of Buffalo Creek, images of the man-made disaster remain vivid for Delegate Arley Johnson, D-Cabell.

Friday, Feb. 28:
Suit against Pittston broke legal ground

Memphis native Gerald Stern worked as a lawyer in the civil rights movement after law school, then joined Arnold and Porter, a top firm in Washington, D.C. He was 35, assigned to the firm's pro bono section, and a little bored when the Buffalo Creek case came his way.

Saturday, Mar. 1:
Decisions on disaster puzzling

A quarter-century ago this week, the world got a sickening lesson in what an unsupervised industry could do to defenseless families.

Sunday, Mar. 2:
Buffalo Creek: Changes lie just below the surface

PARDEE - Stray dogs roam the barren upper reaches of Buffalo Creek. Peering from beneath the shelter of the long-deserted tipple, they offer a slow, wary wag to cars passing along the narrow road.

Coal dams still loom over W.Va.
State has 232 coal waste dams, but safety is much improved, most of the experts say

SHARPLES - At first glance from the valley floor, it looks like any other Logan County hill.

Conventional dams also pose problem

SALEM - The concrete spillway on the Lower Salem Dam is riddled with cracks. Steel support beams push out from the sides of the walls, which bend from the weight of surrounding earth.

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