Over 50 years have passed since the Black Hills flood swept through western South Dakota in 1972, leaving tragedy in its wake. This book explores the extent of the damage through images that highlight Rapid City, Keystone, and the surrounding Black Hills. Dignitaries, including Sen. George McGovern, visited the Black Hills in the aftermath; these visitors, along with the actions taken for recovery, make an appearance in the story. Today, the Black Hills are a tourist destination, with Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Custer State Park being the most well-known attractions. /Corey Christianson has spent years researching the 1972 Black Hills flood. She was a part of the 50th commemoration of the flood, for which she, along with a team of talented individuals, created an award-winning exhibit about the flood and the recovery of the Black Hills. The images in this book are from the Rapid City Public Library, US Air Force, Keystone Area Historical Society, and other organizations that strive to remember, honor, and commemorate the flood. /

Rapid City, South Dakota, June 9, 1972... 238 people died, 5 are still missing. In the midst of one of the worst floods in the history of the US, one young woman clung to the roof of a house. Merlyn Magner survived, but she lost her brother, mother, and father. Questions coursed through her mind then and for much of the rest of her life: Why did this happen? Why did my family die? Why did I survive? Rescued from that rooftop, Merlyn set out to find the answers to these questions.

In June 1972, Hurricane Agnes hit the East Coast with a monstrous and devastating force, bringing a deluge across multiple states and slamming four counties in the Southern Tier: Steuben, Chemung, Tioga, and Broome. Dozens died and property damage ran into the millions as Corning, Elmira, Owego, Binghamton, and other communities suddenly found themselves under water. The flood destroyed the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, staggered the Penn Central, shut down Corning Glass Works for weeks, and devastated the Corning Museum of Glass--a major cultural resource. Lives and landscapes were forever changed when homes and businesses washed away in a matter of minutes. Henceforth, the region's history became permanently divided into the times before and the times after the 1972 flood. Through stunning images, The 1972 Flood in New York's Southern Tier chronicles the extraordinary destruction of twisted rail lines, devastated streets, exhausted recovery workers, rivers bursting their banks, cars on houses, and houses on cars­, all while capturing the communities' rebuilding efforts and recovery of the glass museum treasures.

"In a few hours during the late afternoon and evening of June 9, 1972, a record rain fell on the Black Hills of South Dakota. A stationary group of thunderstorms over the Central Hills dumped as much as 15 inches of rain in some locations in less than 6 hours. The rains resulted in record-breaking floods on streams draining the eastern slopes of the Black Hills. At least 236 people are known dead and property damage exceeded $100 million in Rapid City and the surrounding recreational areas. The Survey Team tried to determine whether the observation-warning-dissemination system worked as effectively as it could have, and whether the Rapid City flood would have lessons and applications to broader regional and national plans and programs as well"--from the Executive Summary.