One of the worst disasters in American History occurred on May 31, 1889.
The South Fork Dam was on the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles upriver from Johnstown, Pa. At 3:10 P.M. on May 31, 1889, the dam burst. There had been several days of heavy rain. The spillway had become clogged with debris. An engineer saw the danger and tried to issue a warning, but the telegraph lines to Johnstown were down. The citizens were taken totally by surprise when a wall of water from 35-40 feet high hit the city traveling 40 miles per hour. The force of the wave was so great that locomotives were moved over 4,000 feet from their tracks. Many houses collapsed and many people were killed or drowned. A total of 2,208 people died. This included 99 entire families and 396 children. Four square miles of downtown were destroyed. On June 5, the American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton, arrived. This was the first disaster the organization had to deal with.
https://www.jaha.org/attractions/johnstown-flood-museum/flood-history/facts-about-the-1889-flood/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-johnstown-flood
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood
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