The Johnstown Flood

Jan 1, 2003

1h 4m

★ 6.0

Overview

On a stormy day in May of 1889, the South Fork Dam impounding Conemaugh Lake exploded, unleashing a 40-foot wall of water. The bustling industrial city of Johnstown, PA, in the valley below was reduced to a wasteland, killing more than 2,200. This heavily dramatized documentary reviews the factors that led to the dam's collapse, while dramatic reenactments and survivors' personal testimonies detail the horror.

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

Inecom Entertainment

The Johnstown Flood Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

narrator

Richard Dreyfuss

Neil Oliver describes the worst ever railway accident in the UK, which happened a hundred years ago on 22 May 1915, in which three trains collided at Quintinshill near Gretna Green. One of the trains was a troop train taking soldiers to fight in World War I at the Battle of Gallipoli: many of the dead were in this train which caught fire due to escaped gas from the archaic gas lighting in the carriages. The cause of the crash was attributed to a catastrophic signalman's error, but Neil examines whether there were other contributory factors and whether there was a cover-up to prevent investigation of them, making convenient scapegoats of the signalmen.

6.0

The Red Tent

Dec 23, 1969

Torn by personal guilt, Italian General Umberto Nobile reminisces about his 1928 failed Arctic expedition aboard the airship Italia.

6.0

Dams: The Lethal Water Bombs

Jun 25, 2011

Documentary short about the disastrous dangers of aging, ailing dams.

6.8

Burning

Sep 9, 2021

Follows the deadly Australian bushfires of 2019-2020, known as ‘Black Summer’. Burning is an exploration of what happened as told from the perspective of victims of the fires, activists and scientists.

7.5

Apollo 13

Jun 30, 1995

The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.

No Image Available

0.0

Your Chance to Live: Flood

Jun 1, 1973

Dramatizes the plight of a young adventure seeker whose canoe is capsized by a wall of water during a flood. Shows community flood preparations, pointing out that a flood's predictability usually allows ample warning time to save lives. Designed to stimulate discussion on civil preparedness for floods

No Image Available

0.0

Your Chance to Live: Winter Storm

Sep 1, 1972

Intercuts scenes from Jack London's To build a fire with modern urban and rural winter scenes to point out the dangers of winter storms and low temperatures. Designed to stimulate discussion on civil preparedness for winter storms.

No Image Available

0.0

Your Chance to Live: Pollution

Apr 30, 1973

A surrealistic look at the future if man does not learn to control pollution.

No Image Available

0.0

Your Chance to Live: Psychological Response

Jul 1, 1973

The film discusses the emotional aftermath of disasters, emphasizing the importance of expressing feelings and seeking help. It highlights personal experiences of individuals affected by hurricanes and earthquakes, focusing on their feelings of guilt, anxiety, and the need for support. The discussion underscores that sharing experiences can alleviate emotional pain and that professional help should be sought for those struggling to cope with trauma.

No Image Available

0.0

Your Chance to Live: Hurricane

Mar 2, 1972

Released by the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency in 1972, Your Chance to Live is a series of films which cover threatening events, from forest fires, to floods, tornadoes and nuclear disasters. Hurricane tells the story of two parents who revisit the beach town where their children were killed in a violent storm the previous summer.

No Image Available

0.0

Your Chance to Live: An Instructor's Guide

Nov 1, 1973

The Defense Civil Preparedness Agency began an informational campaign in 1972 called Your Chance to Live. As part of the campaign, a series of films was released along with a companion book. Each installment covers a different disaster scenario, including tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, forest fires, blackouts and a nuclear disaster. The California Department of Education helped produce the films and hosted a workshop of educational professionals to discuss the best ways to present the desired emergency preparedness information to school age audiences. The process was filmed and assembled, along with clips from each production, and distributed as an Instructor's Guide in 1975.

0.0

1928: The Year the Thames Flooded

Jan 20, 2024

Exploring one of the most devastating but little-known disasters in London's history, this documentary reveals the shocking events that unfolded during the fateful Thames Flood of 1928.

6.7

The 11th Hour

Aug 17, 2007

A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse

No Image Available

0.0

Siberian Apocalypse

Dec 28, 2006

This astounding documentary delves into the mysteries of the Tunguska event – one of the largest cosmic disasters in the history of civilisation. At 7.15 am, on 30th June 1908, a giant fireball, as bright the sun, exploded in the sky over Tunguska in central Siberia. Its force was equivalent to twenty million tonnes of TNT, and a thousand times greater than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. An estimated sixty million trees were felled over an area of over two thousand square kilometres - an area over half the size of Rhode Island. If the explosion had occurred over London or Paris, hundreds of thousands of people would have been killed.

0.0

Inferno: The Burning of the SS Morro Castle

Jan 20, 2025

A documentary covering the harrowing tragedy of the SS Morro Castle.

4.0

A Global Warning?

Nov 11, 2007

Global warming in context. What the climate of the past tells us about the climate of the future.

4.4

Inside Costa Concordia: Voices of Disaster

Feb 26, 2012

An in-depth look at how Italy's largest cruise ship ran aground off the Italian coast.

6.6

Titanic: The Complete Story

Jul 24, 1994

The "unsinkable" Titanic was a dream come true: four city blocks long and a passenger list worth 250 million dollars. But on her maiden voyage in April 1912, that dream became a nightmare when the giant ship struck an iceberg and sunk in the cold North Atlantic. More than 1,500 lives were lost in one of the greatest disasters of the 20th century. Now, using newsreels, stills, diaries, and exclusive interviews with survivors, Titanic: The Complete Story recounts the sensational history of the premier liner. In Part I: Death of a Dream, the largest ship ever built is christened in Ireland before a cheering crowd of 100,000. Witness the disaster this trek becomes as numerous iceberg warnings go unheeded and the ship sinks in the icy North Atlantic. In Part II: The Legend Lives On, over-packed lifeboats edge away from the crippled liner as a futile SOS signals flare into the night--leaving 1,500 passengers to a watery grave.

5.2

Last Days on Earth

Aug 30, 2006

How secure is our future? This eye-opening documentary -- which uses computer-generated imagery to illustrate an asteroid collision, black holes and worldwide plagues, among other threats -- explores seven scenarios that could spell the end of the world. Interviews with noted scientists examine the extent of preparations for these cataclysmic events and what's being done to save future generations from extinction.

6.7

Pompeii: Secrets of the Dead

Nov 24, 2019

Forensic experts scan Pompeii’s victims to investigate why they didn’t escape the eruption.

The Johnstown Flood

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

The Johnstown Flood Trailers