Baldwin Hills Dam disaster
The Baldwin Hills Dam disaster occurred on December 14, 1963 (1963-12-14) in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of South Los Angeles, when the dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir suffered a catastrophic failure and flooded the residential neighborhoods surrounding it. It began with signs of lining failure, followed by increasingly serious leakage through the dam at its east abutment. After three hours, the dam breached, and "it took only 77 minutes for all the water to pour out into Cloverdale Avenue, La Brea Avenue, La Cienega and Jefferson Boulevard." The collapse resulted in a release of 290 million US gallons (1,100,000 m3), causing five deaths and the destruction of 277 homes. Damage totaled $12 million and the disaster caused a water shortage for 500,000 people. Some 16,000 people lived in the flooded area. Vigorous rescue efforts averted a greater loss of life.The reservoir was constructed on a low hilltop between 1947 (1947) and 1951 (1951) by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, directly on an active fault line, which was subsidiary to the well-known nearby Newport–Inglewood Fault. The underlying geologic strata were considered unstable for a reservoir, and the design called for a compacted soil lining meant to prevent seepage into the foundation. The fault lines were considered during planning, but were deemed by some, although not all, of the engineers and geologists involved as not significant.The former reservoir is now part of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. A plaque was placed at the site on the 50th anniversary of the disaster in 2013.
Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Baldwin Hills Dam disaster (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).Baldwin Hills Dam disaster
Bowl Loop Trail, Los Angeles
Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places Show on map
Continue reading on Wikipedia
Geographical coordinates (GPS)
Latitude | Longitude |
---|---|
N 34.0082 ° | E -118.3636 ° |
Address
KH Disc Golf Course
Bowl Loop Trail
90230 Los Angeles
California, United States
Open on Google Maps