SPECIAL EPISODE | Voices from the flood: Survivors reflect on the Teton Dam collapse
About this episode
This special episode reflects on the Teton Dam collapse through survivor stories and music commemorating the disaster.
Fifty years ago today, on June 5, 1976, the Teton Dam collapsed and spilled 80 billion gallons of water into eastern Idaho. The historic disaster buried Rexburg under 5 feet of water at one point and resulted in the death of 11 people. More than 13,000 head of livestock were killed, and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed or heavily damaged. The estimated cost of the damage was around $2 billion, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which built the dam, spent the next 11 years compensating those who were affected. We’re looking back at the tragedy with a special episode of “It’s Worth Mentioning.” Throughout the show, we’ll play several songs taken from “Teton Letters,” a new album commemorating the disaster’s anniversary. Each song on the 17-track album is inspired by an oral history project conducted a year after the flood. The project was a series of interviews with people who lived through it, and the songs tell their story. Teton Letters is a collaboration between Trent Walker, Richard Robison and a variety of local artists. We are including the songs with their permission. Robison made the songs available on Substack here and here . We’ll also be talking with three…
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