SALAMANCA — The Sept. 29 headline said it all: “50 Families Flee Surging River Here; LV Youth Missing in Flooded GV Creek.”
Before the infamous Flood of 1972, a flood unlike any the city had seen before smashed into Salamanca on the night of Sept. 28, 1967, which at the time was the fastest and second worst flood on record.
However, reports from the day before did not predict the destruction that was to come.
“The Allegany River level at Salamanca rose six inches in the three hours ending at noon today (Thursday), but was still nearly nine feet below flood stage,” reported The Salamanca Republican-Press in its Sept. 28 issue.
Overnight rainfall in the Salamanca area was reported at 94 100ths of an inch, and the County Highway Dept. reported an overnight fall of 84 100ths of an inch in Little Valley, none of which seemed out of the ordinary.
The Republican-Press’s report continued: “Heavy rain of an inch or more is likely by noon Friday with local flooding expected in poor drainage areas and low spots of streets and highways, the weather bureau said.”
But rain continued throughout the afternoon, evening, night and next morning in both communities, bringing down much more water than anyone suspected.
By Friday afternoon, reports said the “rampaging Allegany River” rose nearly 13 feet in just 24 hours — surpassing the flood stage by four feet — forcing 50 families to abandoned their homes.
No doubt the worst casualty of the flood was 17-year-old Wayne Hatch, of Little Valley, who disappeared in the swirling flood waters of the Great Valley creek Thursday night. The search for Hatch continued Friday and Saturday with no luck.
“It appeared that the youth drowned when he lost his hold on a utility pole just before rescuers could reach him with the extended bucket of a ‘high lift’ road machine,” the report read.
WATERS DELIVERED AN estimated damage of $1 million to county highways and bridges, more than $7.3 million today adjusted for inflation. Flood waters also toppled a B&O Railroad bridge into the Great Valley Creek and heavily damaging state highways and private property, the Republican-Press reported that day.
In the city proper, damage ran into the tens of thousands of dollars. Basements in business near the river and along Main Street flooded with up to four feet of water.
Salamanca Mayor Keith L. Reed declared a state of emergency in Salamanca at 2 a.m. Friday morning, with all available paid and volunteer firefighters, police and civil defense personnel in action.
Forty homes were evacuated in total on Water, Allegany and Williams streets and Sycamore Avenue. Across the city, dozens of homes on high ground reported flooded cellars due to water pouring off the north and south hills surrounding the city.
Salamanca’s municipal water pumping facilities were forced to shut down.
“Salamanca householders should boil all drinking water for ten minutes,” said Wellman Gardner, manager of the Water & Light Dept. With the pumps shut down, Gardner also asked residents “to conserve water as much as possible.”
Over 125 families in the adjacent Killbuck were without city water as a result of a water break under Great Valley Creek bridge in the main which supplies that community,” the Press reported.
Before the electric motors were removed from the two pumps — a combined capacity of 3,000 gallons a minute — Gardner said the city’s covered reservoir was filled to its 4,440,000 gallon capacity. The uncovered 2 million gallon reservoir was also full.
“We don’t know how long this situation will last and can’t pump inundated wells until we get permission from the County Health Dept.,” he said.
Cleanup began Saturday morning after the river waters continued to drop following the sudden rampage. For most of Thursday and Friday the city’s downtown bridges were closed, preventing several Main Street businesses and places adjacent to the river from opening.
“Damage to stored merchandise is expected to total many thousands of dollars,” the Press reported. “Some basements had four feet of water at the height of the flooding.”
Stores whee stock in basements was damaged include Ben Franklin Store, City Carpet & Linoleum, and the Outdoor Store on the north side of the river, and Dietrich Hardware and Western Auto onthe south side. The Nies Plumbing Co. headquarters and Texas Hot Lunch also were affected.
THE FLOOD WATERS crested Friday at about 1 p.m. at 1,373.95 feet above sea level, a rise of over 13 feet beginning Thursday at noon. However, it just fell short of the city’s record high from the flood in March 1956, which reached 1,374.58 feet above sea, a mere 6 inches higher than 1967.
The state of emergency declared by Mayor Reed was lifted at 10 a.m Saturday morning after conferring with Civil Defense director Roy Nettleton.
Water service to Killbuck resumed Friday at 10:15 p.m. after a crew completed installation of a temporary line across the Great Valley Creek bridge. Gas service to Killbuck was also restored with a temporary line atop the bridge after the regular line was ruptured by the flooded creek.
City residents were urged to continue boiling water after flood waters got into the water system. Dr. George Bender, the Cattaraugus County health commissioner, said residents should continue boiling water until tests show it is no longer necessary.
“The Salamanca Television Cable Co. also restored service Saturday on the city’s north side by making temporary repairs to an amplifier in the main line under the Main Street bridge,” the Press reported. “Service to the north side was shorted out during the flood, authorities said.”
Rep. Charles E. Goodell of Jamestown planned to make an aerial inspection of the area damaged river valley Saturday afternoon.
Asst. Fire Chief Paul Schwab and Police Patrolman Dennis Ambuske were released from the Salamanca District Hospital Saturday after suffering from working in the flood conditions. Chief Schwab spent several hours in a tree when his boat became powerless, struck a tree and disappeared. Patrolman Ambuske was admitted after hours of helping string rope in front of the Main Street bridge.
By Monday, the waters had receded more than seven feet. Mayor Reed said damages estimates were still impossible to make at the time. The county health department also rescinded the order to boil water.
“The emergency shelters established by the chapter in the American Legion and Elks Clubs were closed during the weekend,” the Press reported. “Eight evacuated families were in the shelters and provided with food.”
Of all the damage to city streets, Wildwood Avenue got the worst of it when a strip of recently applied blacktop, 60 feet long and four feet wide, was washed off along its north side. Elsewhere in the city, some 25 to 30 basements still held water waiting to be pumped out onto the streets.
The body of Wayne Hatch was eventually found by his father, Orville Hatch. He said he reached a low spot by the Great Valley Creek, about 2,000 feet from where Wayne disappeared Thursday night.
Fifty men went to work on dismantling the 120-foot B&O Railroad bridge over the Great Valley Creek north of Salamanca. They planned to work around the clock until repairs were completed in about a month.
On Monday, Mayor Reed said he and Rep. Goodell flew over the city for about 20 minutes Saturday afternoon to survey the area and inspect the situation.
“I pointed out to him where the worst spots had been at the height of the flood,” he said.
They mayor said he asked Rep. Goodell to urge the State Public Works Dept. to speed up its land acquisition in Salamanca, which is holding up the federal flood control project for Salamanca.
That $3 million protection system project was finally completed in 1971. A dedication ceremony was held Sept. 2, in the vicinity of the dike along the north bank of the Allegheny River.
The project began with discussions following the flood of 1948 and was secured with passage of the 1962 act of Congress that authorized the project. In less than one year from its completion, the new dike system would be put to the test with the only flood worse than the one seen in 1967.
(Contact reporter Kellen Quigley at kquiglesp@gmail.com.)