Buffalo Creek flood
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The Buffalo Creek Flood was an "accident" that occurred on February 26, 1972 at approximately 8:00 am. A coal slurry impoundment dam built on a hillside in Logan County, West Virginia, USA by the Pittston Coal Company burst, unleashing approximately 132 million US gallons (500 000 000 L) of black waste water upon the residents of 16 coal mining communities in Buffalo Creek Hollow. 125 people were killed, 1,121 were injured, and over 4,000 (out of a then-population of 5,000) were left homeless. The incident was notable for completely erasing the town of Saunders, W.V. from the map (the current town of Saunders is not the same one that once was located in Buffalo Creek).
625 adult survivors sued the Pittston Coal Company, seeking $32,000,000 in damages, but settled in June 1974 for $13,500,000. A second suit was filed by 348 child survivors, who sought $225,000,000, but settled for $4,800,000 in June 1974. The state of West Virginia also sued the company for $100,000,000 for disaster and relief damages, but Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr. settled for just $1,000,000 three days before leaving office in 1977.
Gerald M. Stern, an attorney with the law firm of Arnold and Porter wrote a book titled The Buffalo Creek Disaster about his experiences in representing the victims of the flood. The book includes descriptions of his experiences in dealing with the political and legal environment of West Virginia, where the influence of large coal mining operations is significant. Sociologist Kai T. Erikson, son of Erik Erikson, wrote a study on the effects of the disaster on the Buffalo Creek community entitled Everything In Its Path. The book later went on to win the Sorokin Award, an accolade handed out by the American Sociological Association for "outstanding contribution to the progress of sociology."
In 2005, rock group American Minor released their first single, called "Buffalo Creek", after the disaster, with a refrain that went "Iord i never felt so weak, till the day the dam broke down at Buffalo Creek".
See also
- 2006 Aracoma Alma Mine disaster
- The Buffalo Creek Disaster ISBN 0-394-72343-0
- Everything In Its Path ISBN 0-671-24067-6
References
- "Buffalo Creek Disaster". West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Retrieved April 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man". Appalshop.org. Retrieved April 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Voices of Buffalo Creek". Charleston Gazette. Retrieved April 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - "Buffalo Creek Flood". Marshall University Special Collections. Retrieved April 27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
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