Rapid City Flood 1972 

I was camping with my family in Canyon Lake Park, one of our favorite camping spots at the time, and we left there on Thursday, June 8th, and made it home safely that day. Imagine our shock when we learned of this, and what could have been had we stayed... The family camping next to us had never camped before and we found out later that they escaped with only the clothes on their backs and the lady's purse. Everything else washed away, never to be seen again. Thankfully they were safe, but many were not so fortunate. What a tragic event.

Thanks for posting this. While the Canyon Lake Dam breaking certainly caused a great deal of death and destruction, much of the death and destruction occurred UPSTREAM from the dam, due to the narrow canyons with no escape routes, and backlogging of water while the dam held.

I can remember Dr Crowder who was from England. He wore Tweed suits and drove a Rolls Royce. He was a Neurosurgeon and the sweetest person. He died in that flood trying to rescue his sons. A life taken too soon as were the others.

Thank you for sharing. My grandparents' home in Canyon Lake was destroyed. They weren't home at the time and came back to a complete disaster. My step-dad's parents were among the dead. Rapid City was forever changed by it.

I remember this flood well, I was 12-years old. We lived in the Lakota Homes. Had an aunt that lived on Chicago street right behind where the boys club was. lost everything but made it to our house that night just minutes before it hit. You could see explosion plumes clear from Lakota homes.

My grandma who passed 2 years ago on thanksgiving... she went through that... so did my great grandfather.... who has been gone for 2 years now... watching this is making me think of them....

This is wonderful footage. I am working with the Journey Museum here in Rapid City on the 50th Anniversary Commemoration. What are the chances I might be able to get some of this footage for a video that we are making, to be put with a 30-minute long composition that I am working on??

Thank you for putting this up! I was there and remember it well and it's great to see a home movie like this preserved and made public. Subtitles with locations would really be helpful, to allow people to connect then with now.

Whenever I hear about this flood I can't help but think of the Master's story and how they lost 3 of 5 children. Just horrible.

Thanks for sharing. I was 12 years old and lived in the Robbinsdale area. The torrential rains, thunder and lightning were frightening!

Awesome footage...I was 13 when this happened...we lived in Lead...I have never experienced rain like we had since then...

My dad just told me he barely made it to higher ground when the flood occurred. All the bridges wiped away "like the water cut through the bridge like they were butter". Apparently they had to cross a creek by walking on a fallen tree! Raging waters everywhere. My grandma and my aunt and uncle survived. My dad later was hired by the government to help clean up. I believe he said he was paid $1.60 which was minimum wage. My dad was 13 then.

My aunt and uncle lived in Rapid City when the flood happened. I remember my grandparents and parents being very worried because they could not make contact with them for a while after the flood happened. They were ok though. We visited them a year later and I remember seeing even then many houses off their foundations with spray painted x's and numbers on them which were to mark if the persons were recovered or not.

What a way to ruin the summer this was early June.

This happened because they tryed seeding clouds w chemicals to make it rain. So when it did rain it caused flooding. They never seeded the clouds again. It was tryed over montana. But the storms didnt produce rain until it hit the black hills. They should have been responsible for the damages