My 4th great grandfathers brother Silas B. Shomo died at the age of 29 in Camp Sumter as a POW in 1865 at the age of 29. His grandson Frank Shomo was the last living survivor of the Johnstown flood who died in 1997 at the age of 108.

I have 7 ancestors that died in the flood. Last name of Layton, including an infant that was never found. Ella Layton was the first victim to be identified. If you go to the Johnstown Flood National Memorial and watch the film there, it lists Ella Layton at the end. I had it confirmed by one of the staff, who has the Flood Victims book, that she indeed was the first flood victim. I still live in Johnstown to this day. I visit the old South Fork Dam remains very often. To reflect and remember what had happened and thinking about all the "what ifs".

WOW!!! Very well done... The fact that the wealthy people from Pittsburgh were not mentioned who purchased the dam and had the breast made higher to increase the water level for their own enjoyment should have been mentioned. Henry Clay Frick was only 1 of many Pittsburgh wealthy men who had a hand in this disaster. None of them were ever held accountable for anything......

What a sobering film. The scale of the tragedy is overwhelming. I think of the rescue and reclamation efforts, all without modern lifting equipment, and mired in mud and filth. How the area ever recovered is a testament to human fortitude.

Richard Dreyfuss, thank you for this narration. You're a National treasure

This is a haunting visual reminder of that tragedy. The first time I saw the documentary on video tape I was transfixed by the story. The buildup to the final destructive flooding was surreal and heart- rending.

My man and I just got back from a weekend in Johnstown specifically to learn about the flood events, as we are disaster buffs. This is the best documentary about The Flood I’ve seen yet on KZfaq! Thank you! The last 3rd of the film…WOW. I shared this one with everyone of interest. I do agree with the one comment that not enough was addressed in this film of those who were not held responsible and should have been in most ’s opinions.

I live not far from Johnstown Pennsylvania. Visited the museum several times and am always brought to tears thinking about how all those helpless, innocent people lost everything; family/loved ones, their homes, pets, EVERYTHING!! So heartbreaking...😞😢 I highly recommend visiting the museum if you're in the area! Well worth it! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Loved this documentary! Keep up the AMAZING work!!! Best of health to the crew working hard on this channel and everyone in the comments plus your loved ones! ✌🏻🥰🤰🏼💙🤗🤘🏻

This is my hometown. I’ve heard this story so much. There was even a dog who jumped in and saved people that had a statue. Also my great uncle has written a book on this called the bosses club

This documentary totally brushed aside the culpability of the fatcats whose folly at the fishing club destroyed the lives and property of all those innocent people.

Wow! The narrator, illustration, & reenactment all told of a tragic, yet well done story. Heard of the incident over the years, but to put it in this very perspective, is just mind blowing! Thank you!!

My great grandfather survived this flood. His father, my namesake, did not.

That was the most heart wrenching documentary I have ever seen. In the past I saw a couple of others that were so matter of fact I thought them insulting to these peoples memory and struggle to overcome this most traumatic event. Thank you for bringing it to us.

I find it surprising that this epic tragedy hasn't captured the world's imagination the way the Titanic has.

"I call you and your horse a coward!" I was taking a drink and man that line almost killed me

This can hardly be called a documentary, but where it comes up short in information, it more than makes up in pathos and grand drama. It's realistic portrayal of individuals caught up in one of the greatest disasters in America makes one feel as if they themselves stood on the mountains observing the horror with their own eyes.

My great grandfather survived the flood as a child but sadly his father couldn’t hold on to all of his children and he lost two of them.

So sad to see and hear of such a sorrowful tragedy happening.

I've watched a lot of videos like this ...... but ...... this one broke me. It's was bad enough that the dam broke, and then the debris got caught up ....... but .... then the fire. I lost it. 😨😰😭

My relatives lived there. In 1969 I visited my family for the first and only time.they made sure that I learned everything that I wanted to know.they pulled out the photo albums.they were finding bodies for years, between the drowning victims and corpses washed out of the cemeteries,60 years later I can still see those pictures and the stories of the survivors

I remember reading a book in the library as a kid about the Johnstown Flood. I had picked it out myself and somehow the librarian thought I was from another grade group because when my third grade teacher found out I was reading about this horrible disaster that it happened she almost had a heart attack. It was considered especially this writing I guess and years later I went back to read it and went yeah that was pretty filled with gruesomeness I'd found in the high school really watered-down versions compared to what I red in elementary school but I wasn't supposed to be checking that one out in 3rd grade. One thing I took from that story all my life after having survived many major disasters that my parents line of work got us into I ended up I guess you could say becoming and action or disaster action junkie for the movies and I'll always tear them apart because I'll know that just like in the Johnstown Flood it'll never come out so nice as you see in the movies. I can say that we were always safe even if we were trapped 2 weeks behind any access unless it was via helicopter for delivery of food and water or the houses falling around us because of an earthquake Etc but we always felt we were safe because we knew what to do in regards to natural disasters. We learned quick that if people said it's going to flood you go to Higher Ground or away from whatever is going to break.. The only one I didn't know how to handle was the Twin Towers period in all my years growing up nor being an adult even working in emergency situations I had never experienced that type but I could only Harkin it back to the Johnstown Flood where I remembered the people had simply got on with life. I think that is the greatest lesson we can get from this. As I watch younger Generations cry because they feel they are owed something I can't figure out where they got that because reality doesn't teach that at all and they want to have such realistic lives but even their Adventures are safe and cushion guided tours that I could never have afforded at their age I was supporting myself and putting myself through school without getting myself into debt, didn't own a car couldn't rent my own apartment, but I have more education several degrees worth culminating in five different careers and yet I feel I haven't even caught my stride yet. No my life is not perfect I've struggle with depression especially after I was left disabled in my early thirties I have it clinically but that's not going to stop me I've had great tragedies in my life it's not going to keep me from enjoying life and no I have not fulfilled some of the greatest dreams I had as the timing wasn't right or the opportunity passed me by or the loved one died 2 weeks before the wedding yeah sometimes you just don't get that Brass Ring but that's why life is a lesson and I think people in the past they understood that more. They weren't fed false promises buy a media that couldn't have cared less about them they just figured if I can survive that's great period if I'm successful doing better than anybody thought I would that's great. When you look at the lives of the Great show men or multi-millionaire Blue Bloods of the past they didn't have happy lives it was very rare and very hard for them to obtain. They could push a little money to assuage their sins or just never come back to Johnstown but the men who created the disaster went down in history as cruel and uncaring people.

My great great grandfather lost his first wife and 2 young daughters while he was at work. I cannot imagine what any of these victims had went through that day.

Very informative. Rich folk cutting corners with no regard for the majority. 2021 still happens.

That's my hometown and still live here, the flood I was in was 1977 , I had to get stitches that day from debris, seeing dead and hurt people was terrible

I’ve been almost obsessed with this flood ever since I read my mother’s Reader’s Digest Condensed book on it when I was young. I have always felt that 2200 fatalities was very low all things considered.

I have a severe phobia of lakes especially reservoirs for reasons I have never been able to pin point. The idea of a reservoir with underwater pipes and such and unknown depth scares me to no end. We have a local lake here that Is much like this one tucked away up in a valley. I completely avoid it and when I do set eyes on it I get instantly fear stricken. I’m not sure if this is a common phobia but it is a real one unfortunately.

What a cool documentary! I’ve learned a lot about this disaster in the last 4yrs since I’ve lived in PA so seeing this was kind of a treat in a way. Like someone else in the comments said this put the spotlight on the victims and gave insight from their point of view, more than on the reasons that led to it, which is a nice change of pace.

Truly a great documentary about the brave souls of Johnstown

Call a man a coward all you want, don't ever call his horse a coward.

I remember reading a book based on this when I was in elementary school, called The Terrible Wave.

I have 2 books about this flood. This is an awesome and amazing documentary superbly done about the disaster.

This needs to be talked about more. I was 9 years old in 1989 and I don't remember hearing about this. Throughout my adulthood I have never heard about it...until now. Thank you for posting this. ☮

This documentation told of human tragedy. It seems as if it's purpose was just to focus on the victims themselves and not to place blame. That's why I have enjoyed watching it .Sometimes the people themselves get lost amongst the blaming of those who are responsible. I watch enough documentation to know who was at fault. I just want to know about those lost. Who they were as much as possible, and their story. So for this much that you've shared , I thank you.

Yes, a full documentary. Thank u.

Absolutely excellent - and chilling! - documentary!

While researching my family tree, unfortunately I believe several on my paternal gradfathers family was lost on this flood. It broke my heart seeing how many with the same last name were never found. RIP all that perished.

I like the soundtrack to this doc, nicely chosen.

Such a sad story indeed. .

I heard this story 60 years ago from Pat Taylor. And have never forgotten it.

Thank you. I live here. I can see the Stone bridge from my house!!!!

Great video. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing….

SUCH A HORRIBLE. TRAGEDY ..IT BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES.MAY THEY ALL REST IN PEACE.🌹

Fairly good interpretation of the disaster however there is a lot of missing and inaccurate information and events but also some points that are not talked about here locally.

Thank you for sharing this very interesting and informative, in a macabre and saddening way, documentary with us all. Like others who have commented I feel that those who owned the dam and the hunting and fishing club (if they aren’t the same entity) got away with mass murder, they did not give a thought to the people of the region when making modifications or inappropriate repairs to the dam, they just thought of money, money is usually the driving force when disasters like this occur, and it’s the same money they made from the dam that paid to get them “of the hook”, corruption and the misuse of power of the highest order, it’s the only way to explain the lack of any person or persons being held accountable, and it still happens today, as the saying goes “it’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know” that sickens me, how many times are the “rich and powerful” “the great and the good??????” going to be allowed to get away with their CRIMES???????, probably for as long as MONEY is the driving force in society, and as long as those who SHOULD be holding them to account discard their MORALS AND DISREGARD THEIR DUTY TO THE VERY PEOPLE THAT PUT THEM IN THE POSITION OF THEIR TRUST AND FAITH, trust and faith that time and time again that they trade for “30 PIECES OF SILVER” RIP the victims, those who died that night and those left behind at the time to suffer the pains of grief and survivors guilt. Thanks again for sharing, sorry for the rant, I have put my soapbox away and vented my spleen. 😡😞😢🤬😦👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Anyone who has interest in the johnstown flood should read "Though the mountains may fall" by Bill Evans it's a work of mostly fiction based around the flood

Name the names. Andrew Carnegie for one! Read David McCollough’s book on the Johnston Flood. Better than any video I’ve seen. My great aunt Sophia was in the second John’s own flood and that incline there saved her life.

That music at the beginning of this video sounded like a Hitchcock thriller.

Like Matt Kustom Kostumes' comment below, I noticed the rich elite who had responsibility of the dam and their willful failures were never mentioned in this "documentary". I'm ashamed of them. Also, over 400 family lines were wiped out with no survivors. As a Pennsylvanian, those points are very relavent and mean so much to me. So why were these pertinent points never mentioned in this "documentary".

A fiction novel -Julie- by Catherine Marshall gives a very good representation of what life was like around the town, the steelworks & the resort as well as the causes of the flood.

I remember learning about this in 7th grade. So sad. Even went there for a field trip.

If you found this story compelling, recommend reading Isaac's Storm, a similar tragedy about the Galveston Hurricane.

I love watching documentaries an this is a good one

Excellent documentary

The fact that this is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, combined with the opening music, gave me massive “Jaws” vibes right off the bat.

Love the dramatic documentary format. HATE the volume -- whispers so soft I needed to increase the volume 4-to 5 clicks while Booming Lud portions were so earsplitting I hit mute. Geez, people! This is so easy to produce and this much later fix.

I have a relative that was lost in this flood and was never recovered.

This tragedy created one of the biggest tennents of our laws that we take for granted today and at times is abused: liability. Until Johnstown, our laws had no provisions to sue for liability. The wealthy fat cats escaped and the case that WAS brought against the men who ignored warnings of danger - were never brought to justice. Today this would have been egregious. At the time there was no such thing as liability. In reality, the massive loss of life began the long road to many laws, engineering requirements, mandatory inspections and regulations that today secure the dams we do need for our water supply. Sadly anyone IS above a law that does not exist. God Bless the victims.

You can actually see the remains of the old dam on MSFS2020 in amazing detail.

Sad for sure. Good job on telling the story of it though.

At 16'10", the "warning sound" that the narration says no one took notice of was a train sounding its whistle. Here's what Wikipedia says about it:

In the end the rich ended up losing all their fish anyway, not a minnow was left to fish for or even a lake to rowboat on. It must have been devastating for them.

Not for the weak-hearted, to be sure. But presented with honesty no underestimating of the horrors.

The fact that people profited by stealing from helpless corpses sickens me.

My family has lived in johnstown for hundreds of years, on my mom's side of my family I believe, my great great great great grand father was the owner of the famous house that was on its side and impailed by a tree. But since my mom's heritage is just built different my grand father still lives here and owns shultz bros beer distributor

Learned about this tragedy in a book series called The Americans a few years back and have done a lot of research on it

I hate! hate May 31st! I live in Southwestern Pennsylvania and May 31st has a history of severe weather. May 31sts that stick in my mind 1985, 1998, 2002. The local meteorologists go on watch starting in the week leading up and bring on extra people on May 31st.

I have 2 original copies of books that were written after this disaster. The books provide a lot of specifics and details.

Pena que não entendi uma palavra...e nem legenda em português tem. Lamentável.

Yeah I a little about 40 miles from Georgetown and I've been there many Johnstown I've been there many times and been to the damn it's just horrific I I read about it I read all kinds of things about ITIT's just terrible

Imagine losing your whole family and being the sole survivor after this.

Fix your audio mastering. The volume fluctuates wildly from a barely audible narration to blasting loud water rushing noises. It’s hard to listen to. Especially with headphones.

I have never heard of this before.

I previously only knew this as a Bruce lyric

I first learned of Johnstown Flood from a assigned book in 5th grade through who else but, Houghton Mifflin The Terrible Wave a storyline regarding The Flood through the perspective of a teenage girl and teenage boy. It was based of course on the Johnstown Flood of 1889. See I was confused by the name Johnstown due to me being born in California, it was 3 year's from the Time Jim Jones in Guyana had transpired. I was 11 years old when I first heard of the infamous Jonestown, in Guyana. So when I read about the Terrible Flood and saw Johnstown I kept asking my teacher I don't understand where is Jim Jones there's no mention of him in here. My poor class mates at the time hadn't yet heard of Jim Jones and The Kool Aid my growth as a Christian meant mom assumed the responsibility to teach me about false prophet's and pretend Christians like Jim Jones. Today, I do know the difference between Johnstown, Flood in Pennsylvania 1889, and Jim Jonestown in Guyana, 1978. Has anyone else out there ever did something similar pertaining to Subject Matters or Topics in History?

Why no discussion about the greed and hubris of the infamous titans who created this disaster?

The book was excellent!!,

I'm often confused as to why nobody talks about the Johnstown flood that occurred in the 70s???? That if I remember correctly was pretty devastating too? I remember visiting there as a kid after the flood, and it was awful. I had family there and I remember what it was like before and after the flood. Does anyone know if these were the same areas? I know it was near Indiana PA, and a borough call Penn Run. I'm sure it was.

I first saw this on the men who built America, tragically sad

I remember the flood of 1977. I was 9.

Thank you, Mr Frick! :{

This video is pretty melodramatic, and the enactors leave something to be desired. American Experience has a better video of this event, if it's still available here.

What year was this made? I'm thinking it is over 15 years old.

Richard Dreyfuss?

THE GUILTY NEVER EVEN GOT THEIR SHOES WET,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,BUT THEY LOST THEIR LAKE,,,,,,TO BAD FOR MONEY,& POWER !

this movie had a budget of $200 and $150 went to Richard Dreyfuss

Even though several people got together to sue the fat cats for compensation none was won. Very few won anything from the men that were some of the richest in the world, so sad!

Very good content, illustrations, re-enactments. Impressed that they got Richard Dreyfuss to narrate, but...How does an actor not understand maintaining volume? He practically shouts the first few words of every sentence, and every sentence ends practically whispered. Fortunately I had subtitles turned on.

❤

I only watched about 15 minutes and noted several inaccuracies.

14:00 how do they know that guy stepped out on his porch and thought it was a false alarm?

The man called another man’s horse a coward...

What if this was aired on PBS?

Song name when fire scene?

At 51:27 ..is there any particular reason why the Swedish national anthem is playing?

"I call you and your horse a coward! Damn's only collapse when I instruct them to!"

😔👍

I live in Burnsville now.

Not only people died during this flood, Rich people who thought they know it all, these RICH people who ruin the peaceful town didn't even help the people. Didn't even help the town. With all their MONEY, they didn't do NOTHING!

At 16:09 An Engineer John Hess ran his train backward to warn the people of East Conemaugh.