The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man and Buffalo Creek Revisited 1975, 1985, 2006
Distributed by Appalshop, Inc., 91 Madison Avenue, Whitesburg, KY 41858; 606-633-0108
Produced by Appalshop
Director n/a
DVD, color, 71 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Environmental Studies, Appalachian Studies
Date Entered: 09/12/2006
Reviewed by Lauren Aldridge, Huddleston Bolen LLP Law Library, Huntington, WVThis DVD consists of two documentary films about the Buffalo Creek mining disaster that happened on February 26, 1972 in the community of Buffalo Creek, West Virginia. The first film, The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man was filmed in 1975, shortly after the disaster. The documentary contains eyewitness accounts of the flood from people who lived through it, and accounts from Pittston Coal Company officials and the United Mine Workers of America. It also explores Pittston Coal Company’s business and mining practices that many believe were a direct cause of the flood. To this day, Pittston calls the flood ‘an act of God.’
The second film, Buffalo Creek Revisited was filmed in 1985, and shows the physical and emotional devastation left behind by the flood 12 years earlier. This film shows the obstacles that Buffalo Creek residents faced when attempting to rebuild their lives and homes. Like its predecessor it also contains interviews with flood survivors, and it shows how people still struggle with the emotions of that day.
The only problem with the film is that the sound quality is less than ideal. The volume tends to rise and fall, but I believe that this is merely a product of the recording technology at the time of filming. These films were created in 1975 and 1985, and were combined into one DVD in 2006. Both films would be appropriate to show when studying mining and the environmental problems it can cause, West Virginia history, or to compare to the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster which holds many similarities to the Buffalo Creek disaster. Highly recommended for audiences of Jr. High school age and above.