During the Los Angeles Coroner's Inquest, William Mulholland said, "this inquest is a very painful for me to have to attend but it is the occasion of that is painful. The only ones I envy about this whole thing are the ones who are dead." In later testimony, after responding to a question, he added, "Whether it is good or bad, don't blame anyone else, you just fasten it on me. If there was an error in human judgment, I was the human, I won't try to fasten it on anyone else."
William Mulholland, chief engineer, Water Department Los Angeles

Every man-made disaster and catastrophe has at least six Cascade Events leading up to the final event, the catastrophe according to the Rule of Seven. This is a quick read of the Cascade Events of the second greatest loss of life in the history of California: The St. Francis Dam.

It examines the Rule of Seven, and how human error played a role in this disaster. Nothing happens in isolation or as a result of a single event. Thus, by learning from history, we can gain insight into preventing a similar disaster in the future.

William Mulholland, a self-taught engineer, brought water to Los Angeles, but he also brought a disaster in the form of the St. Francis dam which failed, killing hundreds. From the very land the dam was placed on, to its design, to the failure of Mulholland on the very day the dam would collapse when called by the worried dam-keeper, to see the pending catastrophe. Of interest: there is still an identically designed dam in the City of Los Angeles.

This is a free excerpt from The Green Beret Guide to Great Disasters

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