Ruthless Tide

ΓÇ£Reads like a nail-biting thriller.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇö Library Journal,starred review A gripping new history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown FloodΓÇöthe deadliest flood in U.S. historyΓÇöfrom NBC host and legendary weather authority Al Roker Central PennsylvaniaMay 311889: After a deluge of rainΓÇönearly a foot in less than twenty-four hoursΓÇöswelled the Little Conemaugh Riverpanicked engineers watched helplessly as swiftly rising waters threatened to breach the South Fork dambuilt to create a private lake for a fishing and hunting club that counted among its members Andrew MellonHenry Clay Frickand Andrew Carnegie. Though the engineers telegraphed neighboring towns on this last morning in May warning of the impending dangerresidentsΓÇöfactory workers and their familiesΓÇöremained in their homeshaving grown used to false alarms. At 3:10 P.M.the dam gave wayreleasing 20 million tons of water. Gathering speed as it flowed southwestthe deluge wiped out nearly everything in its path and picked up debrisΓÇötreeshousesanimalsΓÇöbefore reaching Johnstowna vibrant steel town fourteen miles downstream. Traveling 40 miles an hourwith swells as high as 60 feetthe deadly floodwaters razed the mill townΓÇöhome to 20000 peopleΓÇöin minutes. The Great Floodas it would come to be calledremains the deadliest in US historykilling more than 2200 people and causing $17 million in damage. In Ruthless TideAl Roker follows an unforgettable cast of characters whose fates converged because of that tragic dayincluding John Parkethe engineer whose heroic efforts failed to save the dam; the robber barons whose fancy sport fishing resort was responsible for modifications that weakened the dam; and Clara Bartonthe founder of the American Red Crosswho spent five months in Johnstown leading one of the first organized disaster relief efforts in the United States. Weaving together their stories and those of many ordinary citizens whose lives were forever altered by the eventRuthless Tide is testament to the power of the human spirit in times of tragedy and also a timely warning about the dangers of greedinequalityneglected infrastructureand the ferociousuncontrollable power of nature.