They had willfully failed to carry out their civic obligation of keeping the city’s residents safe. In addition to the 21 killed, 150 were injured. Media in category 'Boston Molasses Disaster' The following 14 files are in this category, out of 14 total. The disaster caused over 100 million of damage in today’s money. The US Industrial Alcohol was found guilty of causing $100 million worth of damages to the city of Boston (in today’s money). The Great Boston Molasses Flood killed 21 people. History Disaster How the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 Made the World a Little Bit Safer A molasses tank collapsed and caused widespread damage in Boston's North End in January 1919. Ogden stressed, “‘The general impression of the erection and maintenance of the tank is that of an urgent job … I believe and find that the high primary stresses, the low factor of safety, and the secondary stresses, in combination, were responsible for the failure of the tank.” Who Was To Blame?Ī verdict on who was responsible took three years, finally arriving in 1923 after the city’s longest court case. Children from the area were known to come by and fill their cups with the sweet molasses that oozed from the tank’s leaks.īoston appointed attorney Hugh W. The staff at the fuel station were apparently aware of these warning flags. Mayville’s investigation revealed that, in additional to the other problems, the tank’s rivets were defective. So, when the tank was overfilled, early cracks occurred around these rivet holes. Ronald Mayville, a structural engineer with the Massachusetts consulting company Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, launched a further investigation in 2004. Unfortunately, this was not the case on January 15th. Molasses is 1.5 times denser than water, but the force of gravity acting on the liquid resulted in it picking up speed frighteningly quickly. If one thinks of the speed at which molasses moves when poured from a bottle, one thinks of a sticky, slow-moving liquid. Some residents became engulfed in rubble and imprisoned by molasses, putting their lives in jeopardy. The viscous molasses entirely flooded the surrounding area, which was mostly made up of Irish and Italian immigrant households. The tank, which was near the harbor (a prime position for delivery and collection) was itself obliterated in seconds under the thundering pressure of the escaping liquid. What was the Great Molasses Flood Well, it’s just what it sounds like. That year, the city experienced the Great Molasses Flood. A 2 million gallon (7.6 million liter) molasses tank ruptured on January 15th, 1919, spilling its contents all over Commercial Street in Boston’s North End. Don’t believe us Just ask anyone who lived in the Boston area in 1919. The Great Molasses Disaster, often known as “The Big Day,” was one of the strangest calamities to ever strike Boston, but sadly also one of the most devastating. What would you do if a tsunami of sticky molasses swept through your house, destroying everything in its path? The lack of electrical equipment available at the time made cleanup difficult, and it took days before officials were able to assess the full extent of the damage and determine the death toll.What happens when a breakdown in ethics collides with a desire to make money quickly? When the molasses disaster struck Boston in 1919, residents witnessed it first-hand. The elevated railroad along Commercial Street collapsed and an alert conductor prevented an inbound train from plunging into the abyss of sugar and syrup. Copp’s Hill, which is located on the far side of Commercial Street, created a natural barrier that helped contain the disaster to the waterfront neighborhood. Houses made of wood along Commercial street were reduced to kindling, while brick buildings sustained significant damage. Firemen were crushed and killed under the weight of the fire station, which was flattened within seconds by the rush of goop. Food, pigs, and barrels of beer were swept up in the wave of molasses that crashed through the streets and hardened into a solid mass by nightfall. The molasses flood leveled homes, shipping docks, warehouses, and Engine 31 of Boston’s Fire Department.
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