After the Johnstown flood of 1936 , the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a study and work started in August 1938 with extensive dredging and flood control measures . On November 27 , 1943 , Colonel Gilbert Van B. Wilkes , Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers , Pittsburgh District , told a Johnstown audience the flood problems had been effectively solved . People began to feel secure that any flooding issues had been resolved and even promoted the area as " flood free " for many years . The Corps of Engineers had designed flood control measures for the protection of a standard project flood . Protection to the 500-year level was not economically viable . In 1974 the Corps issued a report titled " The Potential for Future Flooding in the Johnstown Area " . This did not deter town leaders and the people of Johnstown at all
Johnstown flood of 1936
Johnstown flood of 1936
Johnstown flood of 1977