The Rapid City Flood, 1972

Jumble of cars after the storm Rapid City, S.D.

The devastating Republican River flood of 1935 has left a lasting impression on us in Southwestern Nebraska, especially residents in the towns along the Republican. At that time natural forces combined to produce a "Once in a 100-year storm," which dumped unheard of amounts of rain on drought parched lands north and west of McCook. This brought to life long dormant creeks and streams, which culminated at the Republican River, accounting for unprecedented floods that accounted for great loss of life and property in our area. The knowledge of this tragedy was still all too fresh in mind in 1972 when we received word of a great flood in Rapid City, S.D.

Rapid City came into being in 1874, with the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. While Rapid City is not in the Black Hills, it is close enough so that it has been able to bill itself as "The Gateway to the Black Hills," and largely because of its tourist industry it has developed into the Metropolis of Western South Dakota.

The founders of Rapid City planned their city to be well south of the flood plain of Rapid Creek, but over the years a good-sized settlement developed in the flood plain along the banks of Rapid Creek, a very scenic area. The Indians in that area, however, were wary of locating along that creek from the very beginning -- "Too many bears, and too much water." The white men did not listen and for 100 years that settlement flourished, with no problems from a flooding Rapid Creek. The creek was spring-fed and flowed evenly year around and was believed to be very stable. The homes got bigger and fancier over the years, and businesses sprang up, which catered to these homeowners.

Remains of failed Canyon Lake Dam after flood

In 1971 my family and I visited a cousin, Stan, his wife, Faye, and their two boys, who lived just west of Rapid City, and we were greatly impressed with the beauty of their location, on the flood plain along Rapid Creek. Their immediate, friendly subdivision consisted of about 50 or so ranch style homes, extending for more than a mile on both sides of the lazy little creek. The water was shallow and we had no qualms about letting our children play in the stream and try to catch fish with their bare hands. Just a year later, we registered disbelief when we were told of the destruction that the lazy little stream had brought to that community.

Later our relatives described the conditions that led up to the storm. There had been a few light showers in the area leading up to June 9 and 10, 1972, but on the 9th conditions changed. It was unusually humid in the morning and very still. Faye said that she had made a trip into downtown Rapid City to do a little shopping. On the way she had to pass a small lake in a park on the outskirts of town. That lake was the home of flocks of ducks and other birds -- ordinarily very tame and peaceful. This morning they flitted about wildly, with no set destination. One quite large bird actually struck the windshield of her car. Dogs and even people seemed to be unusually nervous, and everyone cast frequent suspicious glances to the sky.

Around 6:30 in the evening word came that torrential rains were falling in the Black Hills, west of Rapid City. Some 15 inches of rain fell on the little town of Nemo in less than 6 hours. More than 10 inches fell over a 60 square mile area west of town. Adding to this trouble was the fact that Canyon Lake Dam, 10 miles to the west, gave way adding its water into the mix. Most of this accumulation of water funneled into Rapid Creek, creating one of the most devastating floods in US history, the type that only occurs once in 500 years. Before it was over 238 people lost their lives, more than 2,000 permanent homes were damaged, 770 completely destroyed, as were more than 500 trailer homes and 500 vehicles. Businesses were lost, roads and bridges completely swept away. Commerce was disrupted for months. Material damage from the storm was estimated to be more than $160 million ($700 million in 2007 dollars).

Fortunately for our relatives, as the water began to rise (quicker than they could scarcely imagine), Stan, using his four wheel pickup, was able to move his family out of the creek valley and take them to friends who lived on much higher ground. After that he spent the night with a small army of other volunteers, in assisting survivors to safe refuge in make-shift quarters in the National Guard Armory and the high school gym.

Ray Fiddler, formerly of Cambridge, and a graduate of McCook JC, had a funeral home that area in 1972. For him and the other area funeral directors the days following the flood were a nightmare. They were kept busy day and night for more than a week, as bodies were found. Caskets were brought in from Omaha and Denver. Every effort was made to keep up funeral etiquette, but the entire burial process had to be hurried because of the threat of disease.

When the flood waters abated, the area along Rapid Creek looked like a war zone. There were no homes left unscathed. Land marks were gone, so that it was difficult to tell just where individual houses had been. My cousin, Stan found the location of their home. There was nothing left of the structure, only the foundation of the house. What had been the crawl space beneath the house was nearly filled with debris. In that debris was a good sized, very heavy safe. Since Stan did not have a safe he was perplexed. When the safe was opened he learned that it belonged to a neighbor, five or six houses upstream. Those flood waters do strange things indeed.

During and after the storm, rumors swirled around Rapid City for days. One rumor that refused to die was that the dam at the Pactola Reservoir, a much larger body of water, and upstream from Canyon Lake, had burst and that its waters were on the way to Rapid City. Canyon Lake Dam failed, but the dam at Pactola Reservoir never did burst.

The Reptile Gardens in Rapid City are a favorite Black Hills tourist attraction. Rumors during this time, all unfounded, were that alligators, crocodiles, and exotic snakes were set loose by the flood waters. No creatures from the Reptile Gardens escaped. There were numerous snakes in the flood waters to be sure, but all were native South Dakota varieties, including more rattle snakes than people would have liked.

The 1972 flood prompted a great many changes in Rapid City. The dams on streams above Rapid City are checked on a regular basis. Building in the flood plain is now sharply restricted, confined to golf courses and parks. There is now in place a better, more reliable warning system, replacing the one in place in 1972, which failed when power was disrupted (even at the radio stations), so that residents of Rapid City were not only without lights, they were also in the dark as to ongoing news about the disaster.

We have been to visit Stan and Faye and the boys since the 1972 flood. They did not hesitate on the choice to stay or leave Rapid City. They like it there and they are there to stay, but we were pleased to find that their fine new home is near the top of a mountain, overlooking downtown Rapid City, high above the flood plain of Rapid Creek.

Source: 1972 Rapid City flood, from the Rapid City Public Library Web site.