In less than six hours, on the night of June 9, 1972, an extraordinary storm dumped 14 inches, or almost a year’s worth of rain over the Black Hills of South Dakota. As thunder and lightning hammered and flashed overhead, Rapid Creek swelled and roared like a freight train through the heart of Rapid City smashing everything in its path, ravaging residences and businesses, and killing at least 238 people. It was one of the deadliest stream-fed storms in American History. In the aftermath, survivors and city officials tried to understand why the flood was so devastating. Some found answers in their faith, in climate science or failed policymaking, or the fateful decisions of friends and loved ones as the rain fell and the waters rose. Tracing the story of the city and the flood through the lives of a handful of survivors, this new book-in-progress offers a lens on an important era in American history. On this site, I invite you to read sections from the rough draft of Like a Train in the Night that set the stage in the years before the flood.

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