From Fame to Failure: The St. Francis Dam (Part 2)

摘要

THE ST. FRANCIS DAM collapse on March 12, 1928, claimed the lives of at least 450 people and destroyed 8,500 acres of farmland; it remains one of the greatest civil engineering disasters in American history. The collapse happened with virtually no warning. An inquest by the Los Angeles District Attorney's office noted that "the only safety measure possible at that time would have been to warn everyone in the possible path of the flood to move out, since, with all gates wide open, it would have taken many days to have drawn the water low enough to remove the danger." Nevertheless, in the aftermath of the dam's failure, legendary engineer William Mulholland, who led the Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Supply (now the Department of Water and Power), found himself in the crosshairs of a public demanding accountability.