Floods, Avalanches, and Tidal Waves 1228 Holland:100,000 people reputedly drowned by sea flood in Friesland. 1642 China:rebels destroyed Kaifengseawall; 300,000 drowned. 1889 May 31, Johnstown, Pa.:more than 2,200 died in flood after South Fork Dam collapsed. 1910 March 1, Wellington, Wash.:avalanche in Cascade Range swept 2 trains into canyon, killing 96. Worst U.S. avalanche. 1903 June 14, Willow Creek, Ore.:Flash floods swept away town of Heppner, killing more than 240. 1913 March–April, Ohio:Statewide flooding of rivers killed at least 428. 1928 March 12, Santa Paula, Calif.:collapse of St. Francis Dam left 450 dead. 1931 July–Aug., China:flood along Yangtze River left 3.7 million people dead from disease, starvation, or drowning. 1953 Jan. 31–Feb. 5, northwest Europe:storm followed by floods devastated North Seacoastal areas. Netherlands hit hardest; 1,794 dead. 1954 Aug., Teheran, Iran:flood rains resulted in some 10,000 deaths. 1959 Dec. 2, Fréjus, France:flood caused by collapse of Malpasset Dam left 412 dead. 1962 Jan. 10, Peru:avalanche down extinct Huascaranvolcano killed more than 3,000. 1963 Oct. 9, Italy:landslide into the Vaiont Dam;flood killed about 2,000. 1966 Oct. 21, Aberfan, Wales:avalanche of coal, waste, mud, and rocks killed 144 people, including 116 children in school. 1969 Jan. 18–26, southern Calif.:floods and mudslides from heavy rains caused widespread property damage; at least 100 dead. Another downpour (Feb. 23–26) caused further floods and mudslides; at least 18 dead. 1970 Nov. 13, East Pakistan:200,000 killed by cyclone-driven tidal wave from Bay of Bengal.Over 100,000 missing. 1971 Aug., Hanoi, North Vietnam:heavy rains flooded the Red River Delta, killing 100,000. 1972 Feb. 26, Man, W. Va.:a slag-pile dam collapsed under pressure of torrential rains, flooding 17-mi valley, killing more than 118. June 9–10, Rapid City, S.D.:flash flood caused 237 deaths and $160 million in damage. 1975 Aug. 5, Yangtze River, China:63 dams failed, killing an estimated 80,000 to 200,000 people from floods and subsequent famine. The Chinese government never acknowledged the event. 1976 Aug. 1, Loveland, Colo.:flash flood along Route 34 in Big Thompson Canyon left 139 dead. 1988 Aug.–Sept., Bangladesh:heaviest monsoon in 70 years killed more than 1,300. Floods inundated three-fourths of country, leaving 30 million homeless and damages estimated over $1 billion. 1993 June–Aug., Ill., Iowa, Kan., Ky., Minn., Mo., Neb., N.D., S.D., Wis.:flooding of the Mississippi River and tributaries caused 50 deaths and about $12 billion in damage. Almost 70,000 left homeless. 1997 Dec. 1996–Jan. 1997, U.S. West Coast:torrential rains and snowmelt produced severe floods in parts of Calif., Ore., Wash., Idaho, Nev., and Mont., causing 36 deaths and about $2–3 billion in damage. March, Ohio and Mississippi Valleys:flooding and tornadoes plagued Ark., Mo., Miss., Tenn., Ill., Ind., Ky., Ohio, and W.Va. 67 were killed and damage totaled approximately $1 billion. April, N.D., S.D., and Minn.:Grand Forks, N.D., and surrounding area devastated as the Red River swelled 13 ft above flood level. Eleven deaths were recorded. Summer, central and northeast China:heavy flooding of Yangtze Riverkilled more than 3,000 and left 14 million homeless. Estimated damages exceeded $20 billion. 1999 Summer, Asia:torrential downpours and flooding left more than 950 dead and millions homeless in S. Korea, China, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. Oct., southwest Mexico:heavy rains killed at least 360 people in mudslides and flood waters. Nov. and Dec., Vietnam:devastating floods caused $285 million in damage and killed more than 700 people. Dec. 15–16, northern Venezuela:heavy rains caused catastrophic flooding and mudslides, killing an estimated 5,000 to 20,000 people. Country's worst modern-day natural disaster. 2000 Feb., southeast Africa:weeks of rain resulted in deadly floods in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, killing more than 700 people and leaving 280,000 homeless. mid-September, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam:rising flood waters from the Mekong Riverand its tributaries destroyed crops and livestock and left at least 235 people dead and 4.5 million homeless. Damages were estimated at $50 million in Cambodia and $24 million in Thailand. 2002 Sept. 20, Karmadon Gorge, North Ossetia, Russia:an avalanche caused by a 500-ft chunk of glacier left 150 people dead. June–Aug., Asia:annual monsoons caused record floods and more than 2,000 deaths in China, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.t5 Aug., Europe:record flooding across central and eastern Europe killed 108 people and caused billions of dollars of extensive infrastructure damage and deforestation.