My book group chose to read Ruthless Tide: The Heroes and Villains of the Johnstown Flood, America’s Astonishing Gilded Age Disaster by Al Roker this month. The title was selected months ago, long before the recent flooding in Texas. At the time, we didn’t realize the topic would be so timely. The book recounts the tragic tale of the widespread devastation that resulted from a dam breaking in 1889. A combination of heavy rains and human error caused the water level to rise and breach the dam. A torrent of water flowed down the hillside, uprooting trees and toppling houses. The flash flood wreaked havoc, leaving behind a trail of destruction and death. The news reports about the floods in Texas have been equally chilling. Homes were demolished, loved ones were lost, lives were irreparably changed.
My husband’s family similarly lost everything in a flood when he was 12 years old. The tale has become family folklore. My hubby’s parents built a home in the forests of Mt. Baldy. In early 1969, record-breaking rainfall caused severe flooding and mudslides. Homes were destroyed, including one in Mt. Baldy Village where a man and three children died. One of those children was my husband’s close friend. Their house was located midway up the slope of the craggy mountain. The deluge caused the creek at the base of the hill to swell and turn into a raging river, blocking the exit to the main road. So my husband, the eldest child, was tasked with leading his siblings to higher ground. His parents remained behind to grab some of their belongings…until they heard the thunderous roar of a torrent of water gushing down the hillside. Unfortunately, their home was in the direct pathway of the muddy floodwaters. My mother-in-law stood horror-struck when she saw my father-in-law dive behind a boulder as a huge wave of water washed over him. She didn’t know whether he was dead or alive. Fortunately, every member of their family survived. But their carefully constructed home and all of their belongings washed away in a swirling sea of debris. They were rescued via a basket affixed to a high wire strung across the turbulent water, escaping with nothing but the clothes on their backs…and deep gratitude that their lives were spared.
