I was in Rapid City that day with my family on a vacation. I was 6 years old, but still remember it. Our RV was having engine troubles and the plan was to stay overnight at the campground on Rapid Creek until the repair shop could work on it the next day. My dad and grandfather heard about about the rain forecast on the radio, and they decided to limp the RV home to Kansas City by driving all night. I can even remember later that night watching the lightning way off in the distance. So thankful they made that decision since several people from that campground lost their lives.

I was 16 when the flood hit. My family lived on a Cul-de-sac across from Sioux Park about three blocks east of Storybrook Island. We were listening to a transistor radio when the Mayor ordered everyone to evacuate. My dad gave me a rope to tie around my mom and little brother and told me to get them to high ground across Jackson Blvd. My dad went into our garage to pull the main breaker and followed us to high ground. I waded out with my mom and brother with our dog in my arms in chest deep water. We spent the night in our friends home along with about 30 other refugees. The next morning my dad and I waded back toward our house. The water was still running swiftly about waist deep. We saw our neighbor John on the roof of our house with his friend. We got some National Guardsmen to take a boat and go rescue John and his friend. When the water receded we went back to our home to survey the damage. Our garage and cars were gone. We found several dead bodies in our Cul-de-sac. I believe that my dad considered me a man that night as he left his wife and youngest son in my care and trusted me to get them to safety.

If this guy had been my teacher in high school, I would have aced history. He deserves _way_ more subscribers and a show on The History Channel.

Thank you for this video. My dad was in this flood and I think part of what he struggles with is that no one has ever heard of it. He lost friends and his life was changed forever, but no one outside of Rapid City remembers it. Thank you for not only remembering, but honoring it's importance in our history.

Thank you for listing all the victims of this tragedy. It honors them, and truly brings out the reality of the devastation.

I missed being in that flood by about 6 hours. Being in the US Army, I was en-route from Fort Lewis Washington to Fort Bliss Texas as a member of the 3rd Armored Cav's Advanced party for the unit's transfer from mountain warfare training to desert warfare training because of the problems in the middle east (seems that is the root of many battles). Being a resident of South Dakota I stopped some 200 miles north to see my folks, then drove down to Rapid City to spend the night with my wife's uncle and aunt who had a beautiful home just off Rapid Creek. What a lovely place it was. The following morning we loaded up our old car and headed south. Not knowing what had happened just shortly after we left the city till I arrived at my unit headquarters and checked in down at Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas. One of the NCO'S expressed his condolences for what happened to Rapid City, and I had to ask what, as we didn't listen to radio back then on the road but carried on conversations about everything we were seeing that was so new to us. Well he told me of the flood, and I pulled out the little television set that I purchased in Tokyo on my way home from Vietnam and tuned it to a local channel where the videos were coming in. Now I didn't see the house where we stayed, the news did't hit that particular block but I knew that it must have been hit. My wife, in a panic called her uncle, but here was no answer so she called her mom who relayed that her uncle had gotten the family out of the house and up on higher ground before the house was taken away by flood waters. The Uncle and his wife still live in Rapid City, now in a retirement home, both in wheel chairs. My wonderful wife, who stood my my side for over 51 years now lays in the funeral home, her burial will be on Tuesday next. GOD HOW I MISS HER!

I can’t get enough of this channel!!! I would love to sit and talk history with this guy!!!!

My family took a trip in July of 1972 when I was 16 from New Jersey to Seattle to Los Angeles and back to NJ. We drove through Rapid City about a month after this flood. We could still see its aftermath. I appreciate this information from the History Guy about the flood. I'm sorry to read the stories here from those who experienced the death and destruction of the flood.

I was visiting friends in Iowa when the flood hit, watched in horror at the devastation on the news report. As I've handled heavy equipment all my life, I knew I could help. Jumped on my motorcycle and rode up there as fast as I could. When I got near, the Nat Guard was turning everyone back for obvious reasons. When I got to the check point I told the NG officer I was a recent Army vet, back from Nam and knew how to handle big equipment. I was told to find a piece of equipment I could operate and follow directions. I operated a front loader with a grapple hook for 8 days non-stop clearing large timbers and cars. It was so sad retrieving the bodies. My brother had an RV manufacturing company in Indiana, they got a FEMA contract for 500 emergency trailers, the first ones were there before I left.

Thanks for the memory, my Dad was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, the base was to help find victims, my Dad helped. It was a mess.

Good video! I was driving by one of the flood plains in Rapid today that is saturated with water and got to thinking about the flood. Didn't realize that it was the anniversary of it today!

My father in law, a construction contractor and USAF LtC Reservist, took his boat down to the flooded area and saved many lives that night. Nice synopsis - your videos have come a long way in 3 yrs!

My favorite subject in school was History but never had a teacher like this guy!

In Australia , In 2011 there was a flood on the TOP of the range in Toowoomba, Queensland . MANY people died and it destroyed much property. In a area that usually suffers from drought. It was highly unusual. Those who died deserve to be remembered.

I absolutely love history! I can't believe I only found this channel about a week ago. On the upside, I get to binge watch sooooooooooo many episodes 😄 there's enough content to keep my nerdy little heart happy for days and days!

I was born in 73. just missed it

I'm a Rapid City native and although I wasn't born yet, the flood is something that is still talked about and remembered here. I remember my mother telling me about the flood. She told me that there were several family friends who were staying in her home because they lived on the floodplain and their home was destroyed. My mother also told me a story of an Air Force family that lived in Dark Canyon at the time. The Air Force husband went home to take the kids and wife to safety, but the wife refused to leave the home and unfortunately, lost her life.

My Dad, a civil engineer told me and I have never forgotten, “Never buy or build a house in a flood plain. Its called a flood plain for a reason!”

I recommend everyone think of this when they go camping as well. You're in unfamiliar terrain, often in a secluded place. Take a moment to find out what county (USA) you're in and watch for flash flood warnings. Have a plan to get out that takes into consideration the nearest high ground. Could save your life.

Thank you for clarifying what the term “500 year floodplain” actually means. People are lulled into complacency by thinking that a flood like that won’t happen for another 500 years. People need more exposure to statistics. Great job!

the episode you did on “Rocketdine” in the San Fernando Valley ..... thank you again.... my mom was pregnant with my sister that year.... you unknowingly answered many questions for me

I remember this vividly. Our family was there vacationing just weeks later in Custer State Park where so many campers were swept away. A number of good friends went to school there at the School of Mines.

I lived through that flood. I remember it was around 10:00 at night when Dad and mom loaded us all up in the car and we went to grandmas house. She lived up a street in a hill and I remember we almost made it to her house before we had to get out and walk because the streets down the hill were washing the cars (including the one we were in ) away. We made it to grandmas house and watched our car slide down the road.

This man does a great job! He has obviously been thorough in his preparation. He uses the graphics well. And he is eminently clear in voice and delivery. What a pleasure to view! Thank you, History Guy!

I was born and raised in Lewistown, PA. and in 1972, a devastating flood hit Lewistown and much of Pennsylvania. It was caused by Hurricane Agnes. Many industries were severely damaged or destroyed in the flood. To this day, my hometown of Lewistown has not fully recovered. In 1973, Lewistown, PA. gained an All American City status because of the comeback Lewistown did make after the flood. Many people moved away to find work after the 1972 flood. Lewistown may have changed over the years, but there are still a lot of hardworking people who have pride in the town. I’m not sure if you would be interested in doing a story about the 1972 floods in Lewistown and Pennsylvania. I enjoy your videos.

I walked the length of the flood within Rapid City this morning. Almost all of the affected areas are now city parks, with plaques along the paths commemorating the flood with stories and photos. (While I moved here only eight years ago, at the time of this flood, I was sandbagging the Red River of the North in Fargo.)

Traveled through Rapid City with my parents on the way to The Black Hills, our trip was almost two years after the flood. It was very sobering to see the damage to buildings, homes and empty areas knowing where homes once stood. Water can do so much damage. May the souls of those lost Rest In Peace.

Living in Austin, Texas l go through flash floods all the time. The power of water is amazing! Not to be trifled with.

You should do one on the 7-31-1976 flash floods in Estes Park Colorado. It was unique because the flood walls were 60 feet high due to the Narrows.

As a South Dakota resident, you'd think I'd have been told about this at least once. It's very surprising that I've gone this long without hearing about it.

live in Colorado about a mile away from the nearest little creek that doesn't even have a name, it's only 2.5ft wide and in September of 2013 we got over 10 inches of rainfall in 2 days. That creek became a huge River that destroyed every road it intersected, our neighborhood became an island without clean water, sewage or electricity. It took 4 days for a single road to be opened and power to be restored, we were lucky to have only had a flooded basement :)

i lived at Ellsworth AFB from 67 to 71 and left So Dakota to go home to Boston in June of 71. i did miss the flood , but had many good friends still living in Rapid City and around the region. i could not believe it when i read about it the following year. i think back and i could have been in the middle of the flood if i did re up in the Air Force. to this day we talk about the flood and look at the photos from that day. thank you for the informative video. you are truly the "History man".

civil engr and hydrology specialty for 55 yrs. very accurate content. i have had 3 i told you so. millions spent defining 100 yr flood zones since.

The last list was a nice touch. People don't need to be forgotten either...

Reminds me of the Big Thompson Flood of 1976 in Colorado.

1938, March. In The City of Sierra Madre, one 24 hour period, it rained over 26 inches and it rained 1 inch in 1 minute in the same time frame. The city held the record in the Continental United States for I think 5 decades. All of Southern California got flooded that year and I think there were over 50 deaths without looking it up. It changed the way our city was built after those floods with cement rivers, dams and debris basins. Maybe down the road in a couple of years, you could do one on this flood and how it affected Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. I have heard of this one before from someone else, but I enjoyed your dialog and angle. Thank you and good job!

History Guy! Love your stuff, keep up the great work! This story made me think of a flooding disaster that happened in my own community, Des Moines, Iowa, where the floods of 1993 caused us to lose our drinking water for two weeks in July '93. From what I understand, we were the biggest city in American history to suffer such a disaster, and it was a unique event worth covering. (hint, hint) Thanks and keep it up!

Excellent presentation. As always.

I would love to see a segment on the history of weather forecasting!

Dude, I've been on a binder with your videos. Thanks for your work, keep it up.

I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB from 99-06, my wife's, born and raised in Rapid, family talks about the flood sometimes, I never knew it was THAT bad.

I worked briefly, one year, for a civil engineering firm and I was "the computer guy" and not an engineer but in one year I was lucky that they taught me a great deal about hydrology and it is not only extremely relevant to pretty much everybody everywhere but also is very common sense when you get down to it. Starting with: Water flows downhill. And some gets absorbed by soil and the rest flows more downhill. Whenit runs out of places to go, it collects and builds up and Voila! Flooding! They also taught me that one of the reasons that streets flood is somewhat intentional to a degree. Better to have flooded roads than homes in a subdivision. This is a great episode and I was not aware of this event until I watched this. Man, what a horrible catastrophe. History Guy is a solid presenter, does good editing and has great stories. Yay!

A good example of planning to AVOID disaster instead of putting all our efforts into disaster RELIEF.

My dad was stationed at Ellsworth AFB at this time. But we weren’t in South Dakota when the flash flood hit - we were on vacation in St Louis, MO, visiting family. I was 5 and I remember my dad driving us around Rapid City when we got back. The destruction was devastating - buildings knocked off foundations, cars in trees, tree debris everywhere. It astounded me to see flood debris at the top of tall trees.

An aunt and uncle of mine, along with their young son, lived in Rapid City during the mid-1970s, from about '75 to '77. Sometime in the early Spring of '76, my family and my aunt's family, went to a park there in Rapid City. There were men doing some sort of construction work, like around the banks of a creek, and someone in the group, or it might have just been a stranger nearby, said they were still making repairs from the flood that had taken place a few years earlier. They said how the whole area was completely flooded. I remember having a feeling of almost awe, and horror, that water could do so much damage.

Always enjoy your work History Guy, keep it up

My father was on the response team after this flood. Although it was a 500 year flood, shortly after he arrived the rains returned again and the water rose again to nearly the same '500 year' level.

I remember this. I live in Iowa and the Black Hills are very popular for tourism in the upper midwest. We had a vacation there just the year before. Your assertion that they are made up of many small canyons is spot on.

My friend lin was there when this hsppened,himself and a friend took shelter from the flood on a city building rooftop. He said it was really crazy.

Oh, my goodness totally forgot this happened... I'm from South Dakota, living in Wyoming, and still had a lot of family that lives in S.D. this happened, remembering my parents talking about it (I was on seven at the time). Thank you History Guy.

I'm pretty sure I just read all the comments so far. I'll throw in my 2 cents. My dad was stationed at Ellsworth outside Rapid City. I was very young. My parents, a neighbor kid and I went fishing somewhere up in the Black Hills late that day, and never got to because the rain started and became so bad. My dad wasn't easily alarmed, but I could tell he and my mom were nervous about the rain. I remember it being deafening on the roof of the car. We worked our way back down, and noticed that a deep ditch on the side of the road that was basically empty when we were traveling toward the lake was now full of water. When we got down into Rapid City, seems like it was raining, but not as crazy as in the hills. We stopped and ate at Shakey's Pizza, and then headed home to Ellsworth. We didn't even know that the flood was more or less pursuing us home. The next morning, some of the men who lived near us who owned boats stopped by and got my dad, and they went to help the flood victims. I remember when he finally arrived home, he took off his ruined, wet shoes and left them by the door. He sat down, disturbed. He had not been back for very long from doing a year in Vietnam, and now this. I remember him sitting silently in his chair, thinking about what he'd seen. His shoes sat by the door for a few days, and I would stare at them and think of what I'd overheard him telling my mom, and all the horror stories neighbor kids were recounting that they'd also heard. It amazes me that I made it to my bed and safety, and had no clue what was happening just a few miles away as I slept. My heart goes out to all affected.

With a name like Rapid Creek, who would have known it would rise so quickly?

I was a young teenager and flew into the Rapid City airport that day. It had not been closed. It was something to see from above. No one on the plane had been told of the flood. I will never forget the story of my father’s friend who lost his family because of the flood. My dad somehow found a pilot of a small plane to fly me to Hot Springs where he lived.

At the time of the flood, I was some 600 miles away traveling to McCook Nebraska with a local RC rock band. We got there around 1am and decided to just park at a rest area and sleep and go to the motel we always stayed at in the morning. We went there around 8am and the lady said after looking at our registration card that there had been a flood in Rapid. We thought not much about it as Spring flooding was an every year event. We went to the rooms and slept for about 3 hours, then Mike and I drove through town to see how many posters for our gig that night were put up. The national news came on the radio and said there were possibly THOUSANDS dead. We were STUNNED! We did not find out about our families for two more days when Mikes dad, who was a NG Colonel was finally able to contact us in Sheridan Wyoming. It was the longest 3 days of our lives.

I love the enthusiasm in this mans face. It helps to counteract the stereotype of historians as dry, sessile, and without passion.

I find it ironic this video was uploaded in June of 2017, then just 2 months later, Houston suffers a 500 year flood all through its flood plains which have been significantly build upon.

Thanks so much for ending your video w/ a list of those killed in the flood. Enjoying your channel in general.

I was a student at South Dakota Tech at the time of the flood. However I was working for the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences (IAS), a South Dakota State government agency. The mission of IAS was to provide weather modifications by seeding potential storms to either enhance rain fall and to suppress hail. The purpose of IAS was to benefit the wheat farmers of South Dakota and North Dakota. Political pressure resulting from the flood resulted in the closing of IAS. It should be noted that IAS was seeding clouds west of the Black Hills at the onset of rain that fateful day and many felt subjectively that IAS was the culprit.

I would’ve been about 12 when this happened.. Living in Virginia at the time, I have absolutely no memory of hearing about it whatsoever. Thank you History Guy for your dedication.

I like this channel. The guy would probably be a good teacher. I like his enthusiasm. Nice bow tie. He's the sort of guy someone would give a rotating one on a small motor to as a present and who would wear it too.

Thank you for these video's. I'm from Colorado Springs, and The Big Thompson broke in mid-late 1970's. Our family and friends camped along there two weeks prior yet an Aunt and Uncle were still camping in the area but luckily were higher up. Have you made a video for this one. I seem to remember some possible neglect of being unaware of that up, up stream levels were rising because of debris, and rain. AND finally broke lose on unsuspecting campers and people who had homes Downstream by the rivers it was all demolished. Thanks again, 👍☺

"There just aren't enough hearses to go around." - Rapid City Flood Survivor

Hey History Guy, Would like to see your take on the Johnstown Flood of 1889. Mind boggling amounts of water, damage, and victims. Basically a rolling wall of water and debris, including miles of barbed wire, Yikes!

It is always a sad episode when lives are lost and the hero is nameless. Yet in Life that usually is the case. The History Guy succeeded once more to bring us "In A Flash A Flood Of History That Deserves To Be Remembered'." God Bless and thanks to The History Cat for staying dry during this episode. :-)

I drove through Rapid in late September of that year and was astonished at how quickly they had cleaned up the city! There was little evidence of the flood, at least on the main thoroughfare through town. Many years later we moved to RC and our last house there was a 4 level split. The top 2 levels had been moved from the flood plain and placed over the newly excavated lower 2 levels. We were careful not to buy in the flood plain. I miss RC to this day; it was a great place to live.

My husband was stationed at Ellsworth AFB that year. Fortunately, we lived on a hill in town. However, we lost several friends during that flood and many of our friends lost their home that night. Normally you could take a giant step and cross over the creek, but that night it crested at 6 foot deep. Another friend rode out the flood in his Volkswagon and another had been sitting on the dam a little bit before it broke. He spent the night in a tree. They were pulling people out of the mud for weeks and there are people who were camping up in the hills who were probably never found. It was an awful night and after all this time I still have bad dreams about it. Until you see it you would not believe what water can do. We were fortunate, but many were not.

In 2013 we had a repeat flood in Big Thompson Canyon in Colorado. Steep canyons and intense rain will always cause flash floods. Climb to safety and not drive your car is always smarter when one occurs. We call that set-up upslope in Colorado's front range community's, storms back up to the mountains and that's when we get all the rain or snow. Storms rotate counter clockwise and if the center of the low is south of your location, you'll be getting one or the other. At least where mountains are involved and your east of them. So many video's of the 1965 Denver flood and both Big Thompson floods. Denver has since built 3 large reservoirs as catch basins. When the storm is below a dam, there isn't anything you can do but climb to safety. Thanks History Guy.

Great bit of history, History Guy!

I missed being in the 1972 Flooding in Rapid City. But by September of 72 I was assigned to Ellsworth AFB nearby and one of the first things we did upon arrival was to assist in the recovery efforts. It was an overwhelming job. I remember the cars stacked up on the edge of town at car dealerships and mud and debri everywhere. It took years to recover from this tragedy. This video was very well produced and explained the situation in layman's terms. Well done.

Really good stuff. You did well on the meteorology and explaining what a 100 year and 500 year flood actually means.

I was in the flood as a 19 yr old kid driving around along the flooded streets with friends. We were stopped by the National Guard as we drove West out of Rapid On a hwy that paralleled Rapid Creek. They warned us that if we got in trouble no one would come to our rescue so of course being the teenagers we were we continued on. A couple miles further on a side canyon emptied into the Rapid Creek canyon and it was flooded with an abandoned International Scout pushed up against the guardrail. As we passed through the flooded area, before we knew it water was above the hood of the Chevy Blazer that I was driving but by the grace of God the Blazer kept running and I think because I had 5 guys in it there must have been enough weight to prevent us from also being pushed up against the guardrail. After we got through it and settled down a bit the decision was made to turn around and return back into town. We stopped in a trailer park that was 80 yds from the creek and warned residents (the next morning nothing was left in that park!). Then we stopped at the Canyon Lake that was mentioned, at that moment the water was at the very top and the spillway was roaring 15' deep. Then I started taking my friends home because we thought we'd seen everything that was going on. On my return I took a side street little did I know that the dam had burst and wall of water was flooding the street where we had just been. In the morning my sister woke me up with a report that 6 people had died and I couldn't figure out why until a little later when the scope of what happened was reported. Our house was a block away from the floodwaters and later I went out to look at the Chevy Blazer to find horse manure was laying up on top of the engine block. If the water had been an inch higher, the engine would have stalled in the middle of that torrent the night before. All I can say is that I lived to tell the tale.

Look at the old Camaro and the Corvair wagon, great video

Yesterday was the 91st anniversary of the failure of the St. Francis Dam in California, the deadliest dam failure in U.S. history after the 1889 Johnstown Flood. You can do video on that.

Coming up on June 9th, 2021 is the 49th anniversary of the Rapid City Flood. I was twelve years old and we lived in Lakota Homes. Below is my story of the flood. This is from my up-and-coming Book "Iyeska" Also included is a great video of the Flood. (Not associated with my book) The Rapid City Flood I will never forget the Rapid City flood on Thursday, June 9, 1972. That flood changed the whole course of my life literally and in every way imaginable. Not bad or good just changed. I remember the night before. My mom, my sisters, and I went to Payless Shoes which was right across the street on West Main Street and Baken Park close to where José was working. I have always remembered that week. José and I were planning a little fishing trip somewhere along the Rapid Creek in the area near Deadwood Avenue which was near the Baken Park area and the stretch that goes from the old hospital to Omaha Street. José's sister lived a block behind where The Boy's Club was on Chicago Street. I'd spent a lot of time at The Boy's Club when school was closed or on the weekend. I'd sometimes go to my Aunt Lola's house. Then, my mom or stepdad would pick me up. (Her house was a total loss in the flood) Fortunately, the flood happened between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 pm. I remember that day, it rained, rained, and rained. According to the USGS.gov, nearly 15 inches of rain fell in about six hours the night of June 8th through the June 9th, 1972. I remember being at home and the lights going out. Mom ran like crazy to cover all the mirrors, and I didn’t know what was up with that. Growing up, every time we had thunder and lightning, she would always cover the mirrors with a blanket. No one was allowed to shower or bathe. I remember one thunder strike that looked like it hit in the front yard. It was loud. I remember my sisters all run around the house looking out the windows watching for this and that all scared of it. I remember looking towards Rapid City from Lakota homes and seeing these red and orange mushroom clouds and hearing a low rumble sound. I would later find out. Those were some houses that blew up from the gas leaks caused by the flood. My mom’s sister Bonnie lived across the street from one side, and my mom's brother Tom lived across the street on the other side with their families -- so everybody was running back and forth from house to house except for us kids. We had to stay inside. It wasn't until the next morning I got up and felt something different in the air. I didn't know what was going on. José, his brother Sam, Uncle Tom, uncle Mickey, and some of the older cousins had been back and forth from Rapid City as they were volunteering in town. They said Rapid City got hit by a flash flood. They brought a radio, and I remember listening to it until the televisions come back on and everything was about so-and-so and contact so-and-so. Someone is looking for his or her relative as they were talking about these emergency centers set up here and there. As a kid, I didn't understand the whole thing, but I sensed something bad happened. I read it in family members’ faces and in their demeanor. I remember older cousins and my uncles and stepdad. They would be gone most the day and when they'd come back, they were quiet. They were normally laughing and joking around. So later, in life, I would hear stories of them pulling bodies out of the mud. One story is of a lady that had to be peeled off a tree in the destruction. The men said the destruction was just everywhere with whole parts of town that was unrecognizable. The Rapid City flood was a flash flood. It wasn't gradual. It was a wall of water that wiped out the middle part of Rapid City. Sadly, we lost a baby cousin in the flood. She had lived somewhere near the railroad bridge on N. Maple St. I remember a few days after the flood. Army trucks pulled into Lakota homes all lined up in a caravan. They were going house-to-house, they were telling everybody to get in the back of the trucks, and they drove everybody up to Garfield Elementary School. Everyone was in line getting clean water and shots. We all had to get shots. That was the first time I had a shot with the air jet, on my arm. We had to get a tetanus shot too. I don't know what the other one was. I remember going out for the first time when we drove by Aunt Lola's house right behind The Boy's Club. Her whole block was gone. Her house was moved and caved in on one whole side. It was something I'll never forget, but I remembered her neighborhood. It was gone. There was nothing there except the big trees. That was about it. You couldn't even see the sidewalks. They were covered with mud. The Army National Guard and the Air Force had guys out patrolling the streets. I remember the guy on the car radio warning all looters would be shot on site. All the schools had donations of clothing, food, and housing. I looked it up, and according to the Red Cross, the flood left 238 people dead, 3,057 people injured, and the damage is estimated at more than $160 million. That would be equivalent to $664 million in 2002. 1,335 houses and 5,000 cars were destroyed. I remember somebody saying the cause of the flood was cloud seeding and that there was an error made. Little did my sisters and I know that our whole world would change within two or three weeks when we would load everything we've owned and moved to Seattle. Our lives were changed forever.

I was born at Ellsworth Air Force Base one week after this event. My father, an Air Force officer and part of a B-52 crew, was one of the volunteers who went to search for bodies after this was over.

I was 9 years old, my family was on vacation about a month after this flood we drove through Rapid City on our way to Mt. Rushmore.....I still remember fields full of ruined cars, bare house foundations with a house still standing because of a big tree diverting the flow of water, train tracks bent like a coil spring.......that was almost 50 years ago, and I still recall those images

The Big Thompson Flood is another crazy one, less than 10 years later. Nice video

Remember being at the dinosaur park there in 1974 and you could still see the 'swirl' where the water made it's way down the valley.

I live near Johnstown Pa..cover the 1889...1936....&1977 floods..... we are submerged by history!

Just discovered your channel last week and I too love history! I was 9, and from the eastern side of SD when the flood occurred having just returned from camping in the Hills with my family a mere month before. The local news footage was shocking viewing the remnants of Keystone, and Reptile Gardens. A few years later we returned and the devastation was far worse than I could have imagined. This was indeed a 500-year flood. Ironically I live in Colorado and the Big Thompson Flood in the same era has eery similarities, just on a larger scale.

"The wise man built his house upon the rock" 2000 yo quote. "Flat ground is flat because the surface of water is flat" Me, 1978.

I was only ten years old when this happened, and was on a vacation.We to Omaha,Nebraska to see my Uncle& family, then to Rocky Mountains National Park in Colorado.I remember my mom talking about the Big Thompson river flood.But I can't remember the date.lt would be great to see a story about that flood.

My Dad grew up in Nevada. The flash flood plain, go to higher ground signs, were quite prevalent. My Dad always warned us, these signs are not a joke. Yes this is desert country, but a flash flood is a force to be reckoned with.

Bobby Buntrock, who played Harold on "Hazel," moved to Rapid City SD after the show ended. He was driving after the flood when there was a lot of repair and reconstruction going on. A bridge had a huge hole in it, which the highway department failed to mark and Bobby's car went in and claimed another victim.

Congrats on 500k. You are going to keep growing because history is often more incredible than fiction. Thanks for sharing!

This is great. My dad grew up in Nebraska and told me stories of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, how it swept out an area a half mile wide. I later read that Herbert Hoover successfully directed flood relief operations, which propelled him later into the White House, but at the cost of conscripting many African-Americans to work without pay. For both reasons, that flood history deserves to be remembered.

Really love your channel and the tidbits of history!

I'm new to your channel. I LOVE it! Keeping these inside of the time frame you do is absolutely perfect!

Great videos, history is alive!

Classy move adding the names of the victims

U keep coming up with events I was unaware of saw a vid of flashflood in NM it went from dry Creek to several feet of water in mins & the sound a loud whoos the fact many people got out is amazing thank u 🙂🙂👍👍

Another great history story, thank you. I left South Dakota in June 1972 for the USAF. I don't even recall this event and it is worth remembering. The folks in the Dakotas don't complain much. Tough, like the territory. Hey how about another topic: Which state was first to be ratified in 1989. The story goes it happened at the same time and the signatory bodies did not know which was which because the covered up the top of the document so neither state could claim who was first, ND or SD. And why were they split like that instead of using the natural boundary of the Missouri River into East and West Dakota?

When my grandpa, dad and uncles built our little house on my grandparent's land, they knew it flooded occasionally. We lived on a farm in a valley with two names Stick Springs and Spook Hollow (pronounced Holla). They elevated it 4 feet above the ground. The pillars cemented into the foundation were thick and sturdy, the rest was left open. A couple of neighbors thought it looked ridiculous. Every spring, a wet weather stream would flow out of the woods, through part of our front yard and snake its way through the valley. One year I woke up in the morning to find water just a couple of inches below the front door. The whole valley was flooded, except for our house and my grandparent's. My dad said as they were helping the neighbors my grandpa said "Ridiculous huh."

Why would you follow this channel and downvote this video, currently 35 people who have done so? Great job history guy

Hey, History Guy: can you add bow ties with historical themed prints to your store inventory? (And maybe coordinating pocket squares?) That would be SO awesome! Bet they'd sell like hotcakes!

I love history and I love your channel! I wonder if your parents helped influence your love for history? My dad loves history and to tell the stories his father and grandfather told him. I have a feeling your parents were also history buffs. Thanks for the wonderful videos!!

I worked at Mt. Rushmore in 1978. While hiking a narrow canyon near by I discovered debris wedged behind a tree trunk suspended 30 high feet between two rock walls over an intermittent creek.This was deposited by the 1972 flood about 20 miles upstream from Rapid City. Foundations of houses destroyed by the flood in Rapid City were still visible in 1978 from vantage points where Rapid Creek was not visible at its normal level.

Great, as always. Never knew about the story I was nine at the time. I always watched the news and I remember the Estes Park, Colorado flood that I think was in what 1975? There was a local fundraiser book put out about it that had specific stories of people clinging to the canyon walls as the road below them got washed away. They could see cars Headlights bobbing down the river. The river dumps into Loveland, Colorado. It happened when the tourist season was in full summer mode, and there were a lot of cabins all down the floor of the canyon along the river that were washed away with people sleeping in them. I believe bodies turned up clear down the canyon in the Loveland lake.

Love this channel, thank you for all the effort!

Thank you