Baldwin Hills Dam Disaster and Flood

[MrFlashfly]

I lived in Torrence Calif as a child when this went down ... footage of christmas trees and presents floating in streets really put the 'hook' in me.

[lovelplants]

the video is old and still very tragic...

[1betrman]

Folks This is how Two Men and a Pick Axe got started.

Now Franchising in a water front community near you!

[studiosinger]

The final analysis was the local oil drilling nearby contributed to weakening the damn's infrastructure.

[dbmrhi]

Mann I remember when this happened. We were living in Culver City and a couple days later my dad put us all in the station wagon and we drove through the BH neighborhood to take a look. It was total devastation.

[Cronopioslover274]

Ok. Thanks for responding, but is 5300 Rodeo Blvd.

[bidefordrfc]

All I can say is "DAAAAAAAAAAAAM"

[Cronopioslover274]

Where exactly was that bridge?

Can someone tell me names of streets? Baldwin Hills is really one of the few unique ecological center inserted in LA. and are nice to visit them to excercise walking or hiking and see wild birds and flowers. Is so sad though that children and adults leave their trush all over the area and put the ecosystem in danger.

I collect some trush from between the bushes to throw then in the public bins.

[seamusmcmeel]

@Cronopioslover274 5300 village green los angeles ca 90016 , at the back of it

[smimot]

Wow, at 1:26 the person filming and a lady are watching the action and seem oblivious to the danger they're in. I wonder if they were 2 of the 5 killed.

[1praymantis]

wow,I was almost 5 yrs. old when I remember my family on the front lawn lookingsouth toward the dam to see if they could see the floodwaters and hoping it wouldn't reach us.We lived just north of Jefferson Blvd.I remember hiking in and around the dam as a kids after it was empty.Grew up there for the 1st 16 years of my life.Don't remember ever seeing this video though.Interesting.Thanks for the post...

[harhainen]

damn i hate the way he says LIVE on television around 01.00

[chuckbyf1]

Can't someone stick their finger in the hole? Muhahahahahaah!

[FlusherD12]

@chuckbyf1

can i stick my finger up your hole?

[chuckbyf1]

@FlusherD12 Uhhhhh, NO! Pull yours outta your ass and put it in your mouth. Tasty???

[FlusherD12]

@chuckbyf1

Actually I take that back you're old angelo 55 year old ewww

[Jerbod2]

you can see dutch people didnt make it, only dutch people are able to control water, just joking :P this was sad, lots of work for nothing... I assume people died also...

[ToxicHolocaust2050]

WTF?? Where is the end of the video? Not impressed!!

[mrrocket1957]

The first time I was ever at Fedco was on that day. My mom had to buy a lot of presents for a Christmas party that night. We had to be the last BIG customer that day. When we went to load the car we heard the warning of a flood headed towards Fedco. We loaded the new Chevelle wagon + headed north away from the flood and in minutes Fedco was under water. Poor Mrs Roy Anderson and Mrs Patterson, Mike Loves teacher, had to climb up on the counters of the store. Both lost there cars in the flood.

[iliekc00keys]

wtf, ONLY five people? That's like.. five people too much.

[heyParkIt]

dam

[postnet92]

wow let repair the crack

get a pickaxe

[78kokka]

Why the dam collapsed? There was an earthquake or there was a problem of construction? (Sorry, I'm Italian and I don't know this story)

[AKPE7949]

@78kokka It was a sediment transport problem. First a small crack in the concrete dam face allowed a small underground flow of water. Then the flowing water moved small pieces of soil out of the dam. As these small pieces of soil moved, an undergound pipe gradually enlarged itself. When the pipe was big enough to allow the concrete dam face to break, then the underground pipe grew exponentially, and the dam broke catastrophically.

[AKPE7949]

@78kokka First an earthquake or ground subsidence caused a small crack in the concrete dam face. That allowed a small underground flow of water. Then the flowing underground water moved small pieces of soil out of the dam. As these small pieces of soil moved, an undergound pipe gradually enlarged itself. When the pipe was big enough to allow the concrete dam face to break, then the underground pipe grew exponentially, and the dam broke catastrophically.

[tdizzogger]

doing a stupid english report on this....right now

[Sargebri]

The area where the dam was is now Kenny Hahn Park. They even have a fishing pond there.

[Sisomvox]

not make in china

[ToxicHolocaust2050]

@Sisomvox

CHINA learned from our mistakes, and used our revised engineering tech to build their damn dams. Chiina can only plagiarise others work, hence the endless COPIES of EVERTHING, from Brownings to Rolex! I pity China, in another decade or two it will suffer for it's carelessness environmentally, poor decisions, and misplaced values.

[jewlzben]

@ToxicHolocaust2050 in two decades time china will own and run this world.

[ToxicHolocaust2050]

@jewlzben In two decades China may dominate, sure, but for what??

Ocean acidity and temps rising, melting icecaps flooding all land below 30 m above sea level, toxic pollution of water, air, soil, land erosion and salinity, deforestation, species loss, it goes on and on. Fuck the Chinese, they can have it after our CORRUPT western governments blow their last chances for global reconcilliation and conservation.

Big picture little man::: money is made from blood, ALL children, and mamallian future

[jewlzben]

@ToxicHolocaust2050 im not racist I just think that in that time china will buy everything out from under us, how is that a racist comment, I never slandered them, I was never rude about them, I dont care where you were born, I was telling you that I think china will be a force to be reckoned with and they will probably hold influence over the world, while we have been wasting years and money on fighting terrorism, china has been developing arms and infantry.

[ToxicHolocaust2050]

@jewlzben :: when did i call you rascist? Maybe you really are, how would i know? I do not hate Chinese, Americans or others ...

I have a STRONG DISLIKE FOR ASSHOLES, THE ULTRA RICH, and DEGENERATE HUMANS.

[STRYKARLITE]

DAMN DAM!

[videoeditguy]

I was there, on the dam's access road near the crack in the dam. I remember Clete Roberts reporting live. I went to the high school nearby (the football field was covered with water). This happened on a Sunday. The next day, Monday, the school's students were given that day off because the school's gym was used as the morgue (5 deaths) and injured triage center.

[ReneeFromLA]

@videoeditguy

I noticed your comment regarding the Baldwin Hills Dam and the fact that you were attending to a local high school at the time; I haven't heard the name, Clete Roberts in years! I remember that day as well; I was a child at the time. Was the high school you attended, Dorsey High? I was just wondering because my aunt, who was going there at the time, talked about the football field being flooded.

[drsteverey]

Celebrating 47 Years of shoddy workmanship of US Engineers. Not that this was the first time. Mullholland miscalculated the St Francis Dam as well and that failed too. Learn to build a dam before invading the next country.

[AbcXNess]

Because building a dam is incredibly simple right? You would know, of course, because somehow your armchair politicking and limited history knowledge makes you suddenly credible about this issue.

If you actually did your research,they chalked up the collapse of St. Francis Dam, nearly a century after it occurred, to an ancient landslide undetectable by technology of the time.(Source: LADWP Museum)

My guess is that you're a liberal arts or political science major. Seems your missing 1/2 a brain

[helstontvx]

@AbcXNess I am Liberal...and very into my arts..WTF has that got to do with understanding Civil Engineering?

The weakness of YouTube is the lack of reasonable discussion without all this insult BS.

FYI I was involved with the construction of the Victoria Dam. It was an arty structure in a political wonderland

[DA90027]

La Dera Heights is all black and a very pretty area. So, no just because it's black doesn't mean it's Ghetto. The bottom of the hill is a bit grungy.

[mrsmelzbad]

Jews did it!

[jessef2502]

im a dam operator i work for the army corp of engineers in the l.a. area.. ive never seen this video before but ive seen other at our dam safety courses.. truly makes you realize the importance of dam safety and engineering.

[rkoliver1]

It's Bush's fault!

[janinej54]

I was 1/2 mile away up the hill from the dam, I was 9. My brother and cousin were watching it. It was really spooky!

[iveezyful]

Omg... that is hella scary

[MilesBennetDyson]

"Workers desperately tried to repair the breach..."

*shows footage of guy hacking away with a pickaxe*

:/

[MsBiddulph]

LOL. Yes, but he was doing it desperately.

[ravuthpum]

@MilesBennetDyson yeah he looks like he wasn't helping the problem at all

[devgowri]

@MilesBennetDyson i think they are trying to reduce the pressure by digging the chasm wide

[comaradella]

What happened to guy at 1.28?

[hollywood101usa]

hard to believe that this tragedy occured right in the middle of Los Angeles...now the area is a beautiful park.

[penik72]

dam dams

[BenetFleck]

Dam!

[metalschooldrill]

The dam is still there at La Cienega Blvd and Stocker. IT flooded north to rodeo where Fedco store was. The governement should have bailed out Fedco since it was a non-profit orgainization, as soon as they went out the prices tripled.

[puppyjesus69]

The dam was filled in the early 90's and is part of Kenneth Hahn Recreation Facility. It's just a big lawn now. You can't tell it was ever a dam. I used to live right down the street from it.

[nok2510]

ขุดเจะน้ำมันโดยบริษัทนิวเวลทำใ­ห้ดินฐานรากเกิดการทรุดตัวทำให้­เกิดรอยร้าวบนตัวเขื่อนการแก้ใข ควรจะมีการฉีดน้ำปูนเข้าไปแทนที­่เพื่อรักษาสภาพของดินให้อยู่ใน­สภาพเดิม

[nok2510]

kjjkjkjk

[JanuaryDiamonds]

what did the authorities focus on? the dumb idea to build a lake in a stadium shaped dam?

[dathribab]

especially in an urban area

[hardysrok18]

why was the guy trying to break it at 0:30

[39325dlee]

i think he was trying to stop the cracks form spreading.

[xtom1973]

one question... when you see the braking concrete, it seems there is no steel in it. could that be?

[CoasterFactoryNL]

well, the dam was old, this movie is more then 40 years old!

[xtom1973]

Concrete with steel was invented much earlier in the begin of the 1900 i guess. Of course it is much more expensive.

I come from germany and i am interrested in forts like maginot (FR) or Liege. In Liege (Belgium) they build a series of 12 big Forts around the town. some of the were build in the 1890s without steel. Some of them were later upgraded with steel. That only one what not was, was hit by a german shell. The shell went through meters of concrete and hit the shell-camber.

[xtom1973]

YT now screwed up 2 of my comments

google picture LONCIN

[xtom1973]

google picture search FORT LONCIN

[Bluesteve32]

I was three and lived in Village Green just below the reservior when this happened but it was an earthen dam, which meant no steel was used.

When it was built, there was an earthquake fault as well as a nearby oil field. When I was in college, my textbook for a geology class had a picture of the ruptured dam on the cover.

After the flood, I can still remember driving around the backside of the dam from Cloverfield to La Brea.

A very pivotal point in anyone who lived in Baldwin Hills.

[denny906]

I was 11 and we were putting up Christmas lights outside at our house in nearby Wilmington. A neighbor friend ran over and told us about the dam break and that it was on Channel 5 (KTLA). We ran in and turned on the TV and saw it live.

[TL250Rider]

It is at the top of The Park Now it is Janice Hahn Valley

[monsterfan101]

is it around kenneth hanh park?

[hra74]

Yes dam was were Kenneth park is located now

[Bluesteve32]

This brings back memories. I was only 3 but I remember having to go to my grandma's house and when we came back there was a lot of mud around, but my tricycle was a bit muddy but all right.

I remember the crew rebuilding the hardest hit areas of "The Village" (Village Green) where I was living at the time. Most of the water ended up flowing into Ballona Creek and then out to the ocean.

[hollywood101usa]

Absolutely awesome footage of one of the most

destructive catastrophes to hit Los Angeles...such a nice area devastated by a dam built right on top of an earthquake fault...KTLA should be applauded for its groundbreaking coverage it provided...actually showing the entire dam collapse from start to finish...all the great footage in KTLA archives and at the Radio and Television museum.

[DoctorHLecter]

Great material!! Did lots and lots of people get done in?

[ceo925]

since your were so pre occupied with trying to sound like an asshole, you probably didnt hear the man say only 5 people died

[NODISCOonkrth]

This dam was very young. I beleive it was built in 1950. Now it is Janice Hahn Park

[TheWordCenter]

The nation needs to pray. There is much trouble in every sector of life.

[ipblah]

Im sorry to say this, but this is what happens when somone trys to controll nature, it always break free.. even things like the hoover dam will eventually break, its inevitable

[H3IH3lM]

And i love how they say "the white man keeps them down" They have every oppurtunity to better theirselves but they dont. And its always been like that, they were found like that in Africa. Look at Africa today, still in the stone age.

[genuinelyblessed]

IGNORANCE! This is the most ignorant crap I have read in a while! Someone need to go to college because if you did you would know that thei were huge empires in Africa before Europeans stepped foot on the continent. Go research Ghana, Mali, Timbuktu, Egypt, Ethiopia, and many more!

Explain all of the different languages. Africans had their own institutions of learning.

[genuinelyblessed]

(H3IH3IM) It so happens that ignorant white man are the culprits of disaster across the globe due to greed, present day Iraq is a great example, we are pretty much colonizing them for their oil! So before your ignorant racist self speak on behalf of a people you need to get an education first!

[genuinelyblessed]

(H3IH3IM)Ignorant people like yourself spread ignorant theory's! If you were educated you would know that Africa today is not how it was found, and its people have influenced and continue to influence the world, I am sure there is something u use everyday that has been invented by a Black person, or the music you listen too, influenced by Black music.

[dsclouse]

your a racist, your very racist against white people, im white, i didnt do anything to you, but you would judge me if you saw me. i wouldnt judge you, no matter what color your skin is, your still the same as me on the inside. its that simple. why do you gotta hate on whites just because of the ignorant mistakes of the past. your attitude keeps racism alive and well, thanks for that....

[genuinelyblessed]

I am not racist nor am I prejudiced against white people. A racist is one who has created a racial system of oppression to benefit one goup over another. I have not created any systems nor do I want to. I think all people should have equality, but its not that way. I love all people, and I would not judge you because its not my place to do so.

[manipool]

I lived on the outskirts of Baldwin Hills in the 80's and 90's and the worst places are in the small pockets of lower lying areas. This is where latins and blacks have turned to drugs and drug dealing. No one owns anything, no one cares. Not so in Baldwin Hills, black people have money and own property.

The bottom line is all areas have good and bad pockets, even Beverly Hills and Pasadena. Brad6544 should visit the area in question and test his theory as to who owns what in Baldwin Hills.

[Antfarm72]

brad 6544 is a hater. Most blacks in Baldwin Hills are good hard working people. Don't blame the whole race on a couple of spoiled apples, DUDE!

[Nanadsyl]

It isn't the truth how and the hell can Baldwin Hills be a slum when houses are selling for 900k, you get over it and you are racist saying you wished blacks lived there when it flooded, you are a waste of sperm dude!!

[DERZWERGE11]

@Nanadsyl nope he is right

[AveolarD]

@Nanadsyl why would you even respond to someone so ignorant?

[Nanadsyl]

Wow thanks dude, its always great to know racism is alive and well!

[DA90027]

Dam is spelled with no "n" unless you are saying Damn! Look at that Dam go...that AREA used to be nice, now it's very ghetto.

[Nanadsyl]

Is that what happened to Baldwin Hills all the whites moved out leaving it for blacks?

[genuinelyblessed]

whites moved out because to many Blacks started moving in, at that time Blacks were finally giving the privilege to move into the area. Whites did not like that and moved away "white flight" the whites did not leave nothing for us we bought what we deserved. They all could have stayed but they were racist and the housing industry was too. Where ever blacks started moving in mortgage companies made the values of those homes go down so both sides were racist.

[mamabird2000]

You're right about the white flight. The realtors and housing industry started it. But, schools weren't helpful either. White kids were increasingly getting beaten up at Audobon and Dorsey as they became the minority. Can you honestly not blame the parents wanting to get their kids in safer schools? If not for that, I bet most whites would've stayed.

[studiosinger]

It wasn't exactly due to race only partially. We specifically moved in 1971 due to the Adobone high school being dangerous. Black kids also threw a rock through our window in 1970. It had been a very nice neighborhood. My bike was stolen, a black kid beat me up. It's not all about racism but about the inherent problems the black people's culture bring into white society. It is intolerable to live with.

[studiosinger]

It wasn't exactly due to race only partially. We specifically moved in 1971 due to the Adobone high school being dangerous. Black kids also threw a rock through our window in 1970. It had been a very nice neighborhood. My bike was stolen, a black kid beat me up. It's not all about racism but about the inherent problems the black people's culture bring into white society. It is intolerable to live with.

[genuinelyblessed]

Why is it ghetto, because it is majority middle upper class Blacks who reside there? thats so ignorant. Why is it that every place Blacks reside as a majority, that place is always labeled "ghetto." I find that to be very discriminating and disturbing especially since Baldwin Hills is still nice today

[DiverseLA]

Baldwin Hills is still a very nice area to live in today. It's not ghetto, you're just calling it that because it's mostly black now. But these are upper middle class blacks... lots of doctors, real estate brokers, etc.

[floatpool]

Three weeks earlier Bush had assinated Kennedy and then blew up this damn. He was only 16, but already causing disasters. A young Dan Rather had a source at the time, but was pre-occupied with the trouble in Cuba.

[Kendezie]

unt got caught in this and akmost died

[mamabird2000]

I remember this so well as I was nearly 5 years old when it happened. Baldwin Hills was once such a wonderful place to live. . .it will always hold great memories for me.

[genuinelyblessed]

It still is a nice place to live, I guess its just to many Black people for u to deal with.

[mamabird2000]

I wasn't even thinking "race" when I made that comment about Baldwin Hills having been a wonderful place to live! Have you even lived there long enough to remember what it was like in the early to mid 60s? I know people often glamorize their childhood homes, but let's face it. . .most places are not as safe, less congested, or neighborly as they were in the 60s. . .Beverly Hills or Baldwin Hills!