As temperatures cooled, the molasses' viscous increased, trapping those who were caught by the flood. The runnier molasses that fled from the tank entrapped people in the area, which brings up the second time the weather affected this incident. The wave of the thick sweet syrup was so powerful it picked up a truck and threw it into the Boston Harbor. *Damage to the Boston Elevated Railway caused by the flood.
This seems to have been the final straw.Īt approximately 12:30 pm, the tank burst and 2.3 million gallons of molasses, weighing around 13,000 tonnes, spilled into the streets of Boston at an estimated 56 km/h. So, when the new shipment of molasses was transferred from the ship to the tank, there was a significant temperature difference between the newer and existing product (the new shipment was warmed to reduce viscosity for transfer). The metal used to build the tank was too brittle to handle the extreme change in temperatures. 15, 1919, the temperature had risen above 4☌, which was a significant climb from the chilly temperatures of the preceding days. This is when the first temperature factor came into play. Two days before the disaster, a ship arrived from Puerto Rico with 2.3 million gallons of molasses in tow. Only four of those times were near capacity. The container was filled 29 times before it blew. Children would bring cups to fill with molasses that flowed from the cracks in the tanks. There were obvious signs of the structure failing. The tank wasn't even tested with water before filling it with molasses. The engineers at the time knew that these were flaws and chose to ignore them. The rivets were also too weak to support the pressure of the molasses.
Molasses flood full#
The tank's steel walls were too thin to support a full tank of molasses. So the tank was created quickly, and inaccurately. Molasses can be distilled to create an alcohol that is used to make dynamite and other explosives, which was in demand during the First World War. The tank was built quickly in 1915 to accommodate the demands of industrial alcohol. The molasses tank, located at the Purity Distilling Company facility, was 50 feet tall and 90 feet in diameter and was designed to hold 2.5 million gallons of liquid. *Coverage of the Great Molasses Flood from The Boston Post. But the reason the incident was so deadly could be attributed to temperature. The reason for the flood could be attributed to human error. 15, 1919, 2.3 million gallons of molasses flooded the north-end neighbourhood of Boston, Mass. The incident could almost sound silly, but it led to 21 deaths, 150 injuries, trapped horses, and crushed buildings. The Great Molasses Flood was a completely avoidable tragedy.
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them. The tank was obviously flawed, children used to collect the molasses that flowed from leaks in the structure.
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