Human beings-men and women-suffered likewise. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly-paper. Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage Here and there struggled a form-whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell. Several blocks were flooded to a depth of 2 to 3 ft (60 to 90 cm). Stephen Puleo describes how nearby buildings were swept off their foundations and crushed. The wave was of sufficient force to drive steel panels of the burst tank against the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway's Atlantic Avenue structure and tip a streetcar momentarily off the El's tracks. ![]() The collapse translated this energy into a wave of molasses 25 ft (8 m) high at its peak, moving at 35 mph (56 km/h). The density of molasses is about 1.4 metric tons per cubic meter (12 pounds per US gallon), 40 percent more dense than water, resulting in the molasses having a great deal of potential energy. Witnesses reported that they felt the ground shake and heard a roar as it collapsed, a long rumble similar to the passing of an elevated train others reported a tremendous crashing, a deep growling, "a thunderclap-like bang!", and a sound like a machine gun as the rivets shot out of the tank. Possibly due to the thermal expansion of the older, colder molasses already inside the tank, the tank burst open and collapsed at approximately 12:30 p.m. On January 15, 1919, temperatures in Boston had risen above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius), climbing rapidly from the frigid temperatures of the preceding days, : 91, 95 and the previous day, a ship had delivered a fresh load of molasses, which had been warmed to reduce its viscosity for transfer. Modern downtown Boston with molasses flood area circled The molasses tank stood 50 feet (15 meters) tall and 90 ft (27 m) in diameter, and contained as much as 2.3 million US gal (8,700 m 3). A considerable amount of molasses had been stored there by the company, which used the harborside Commercial Street tank to offload molasses from ships and store it for later transfer by pipeline to the Purity ethanol plant situated between Willow Street and Evereteze Way in Cambridge, Massachusetts. : 11 The disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company facility at 529 Commercial Street near Keany Square. Molasses can be fermented to produce ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages and a key component in munitions. The event entered local folklore and residents claimed for decades afterwards that the area still smelled of molasses on hot summer days. gallons (8,700 cubic meters) of molasses, weighing approximately 13,000 short tons (12,000 metric tons), burst, and the resultant wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour), killing 21 people and injuring 150. The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, was a disaster that occurred on Wednesday, January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.Ī large storage tank filled with 2.3 million U.S. 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.The wreckage of the collapsed tank is visible in background, center, next to the light-colored warehouseĤ2☂2′06.6″N 71☀3′21.0″W / 42.368500°N 71.055833°W / 42.368500 -71.055833 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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