Flood Museum Forced To Shut Due To...Er, Flooding

A museum in Pennsylvania that was built to commemorate the victims of a 19th century flood has been temporarily shut due to flooding inside the premises.

In a statement, Johnstown Flood Museum in Cambria County said the flooding was caused by an "interior water leak caused by the recent extreme cold". 

Nothing of historic significance has been affected by the inundation, the statement said. According to local news outlet WJAC, officials said the damage primarily involved carpets, drywall, and ceiling tiles, which need to be dried out or replaced.

"We hope to soon have a timeline for reopening. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience as we work to remediate and repair our beloved flagship museum," the statement said.

The statement also thanked a volunteer at the museum, Nikki Bosley, who was working in the archives when she discovered the water leak. 

"We are very fortunate that a volunteer docent, Nicky Bosley, came into work in the archives on the day that the museum was closed during our winter operating schedule and discovered there was a problem," officials were quoted as saying by WJAC. "She sounded the alarm and allowed us to get in here and keep it from being much, much worse."

The officials also said the museum is working with its insurance company to reopen the building as soon as possible once mitigation work is completed.  

The museum is dedicated to the victims of the Great Johnstown Flood, which left over 2,000 people dead, including 99 entire families, and destroyed at least 1,600 homes on May 31, 1889. The floods were triggered by days of rainfall, due to which the South Fork dam failed, unleashing tonnes of water to the surrounding areas. 

Bodies were located as far as Cincinnati, Ohio, and as late as 1911, information available on the museum's website said. 

According to history.com, it took five years to rebuild Johnstown, which again endured devastating floods in 1936 and 1977.