Well, how about the Baldwin Hills flood that took place 52 years ago.
The Baldwin Hills Dam was a reservoir that supplied drinking water to West L.A residents. On Dec. 14, 1963 the Baldwin Hills Dam collapsed with the fury of a thousand cloudbursts, sending a 50-foot wall of water down slamming into homes and cars . It took approximately 77 minutes for the dam to empty out its 300 millions gallons of water. In the ensuing flood, 277 homes were destroyed and 5 lives were lost.
This disaster was the first such live aerial coverage of a breaking news event.
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| Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library |
