Today | Calamity Calendar

June 9

1972

The 1972 Black Hills Flood

On the night of June 9–10, 1972, a stationary thunderstorm system unleashed unprecedented rainfall over the Black Hills region of South Dakota, causing Rapid Creek to surge and leading to the catastrophic collapse of the Canyon Lake Dam. The resulting flash flood swept through Rapid City under cover of darkness, killing 238 people, injuring thousands, and destroying much of the city’s infrastructure and homes. The tragedy spurred lasting changes in disaster policy, urban planning, and public memory. Read more

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Explore more events in June

Jun 13

Ashton-under-Lyne munitions explosion (National Filling Factory No. 2 explosion)

On 13 June 1917 a massive accidental detonation tore through National Filling Factory No. 2 on the outskirts of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. The blast — one of several wartime filling-factory disasters — killed 43 people, injured about 126 others, destroyed workshop blocks and shattered the quiet of a town whose women had come to fill shells for the Western Front.

Jun 6

Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Crash

On June 6, 1971, a midair collision between a Hughes Airwest DC-9 and a US Marine Corps F-4B Phantom II over Duarte, California, resulted in the deaths of all 49 aboard the airliner and one of the military jet’s crew. The disaster exposed gaps in airspace management, ultimately leading to major reforms in aviation safety and traffic collision avoidance.

Jun 26

Bombing of Kassa (Košice)

On June 26, 1941, three unidentified aircraft dropped bombs on the Hungarian-administered city of Kassa (today Košice), striking parts of the central city and injuring and killing civilians. The attack — for which responsibility remains disputed — was used by Hungary’s government as the immediate pretext to declare war on the Soviet Union the next day, binding Hungary formally to the Eastern Front campaign and altering its wartime course.