What was the Buffalo Creek disaster?

The

Buffalo Creek disaster appeared in Logan County in West Virginia 26 February 1972, when water and coal mining broke out by the dam owned by Buffalo Company, a subsidiary of the company Pittston. The disaster killed 125 people, injured more than 1,000, and left about 4,000 people homeless people. The flood caused about $ 50 million in property damage, destroyed or damaged more than 1,400 houses and 1,000 vehicles. The mining company was found negligence of security practices and in 1974 the survivors and family members of the disaster in Buffalo Creek of $ 13.5 million in out -of -court settlement received.

Before the collapse of the dam fell rain in southern western Virginia in Buffalo Creek for two days. The dam and others, as if a mining company were built to block waste from the company's coal, as well as about 130 million gallons (492,000,000 liters) of water. During the weeks before the disaster, mining is about 1,000 tonnes (907 184 kilograms) rejected the mining of the dam. When the dam burst, water, coal refused and mud destroyed 17 small coal camps. In addition to the Buffalo Creek stream, there were communities including Saunders, Pardee, Lorado, Cranes, Lundale, Stowe, Crown and Kistler. Bridges and service lines were destroyed and the roads also suffered considerable damage.

After the investigation it was found that Pittston had negotiated in terms of the safety and well -being of the population of the area. Before the incident, the company did not submit proposals for the construction of a dam on the public service and inspectors from American geological survey and the Ministry of Natural Resources of West Virginia warned that dams may be susceptible to floods. Officials of the mining company accused floods of the essential Rain, which fell before the dam broke. However, the investigation showed that floods were the result of incorrectly built coal waste dams.

morethan 600 surviving flood streams of the Buffalo Creek stream required damage from the Pittston coal company, but ended in 1974, in 1974 settled for approximately $ 5 million in 1974. In 1977 it settled for $ 1 million.