The Brady’s Bend Flood of 1980: Tragedy in Western Pennsylvania

In 1980, a record-breaking thunderstorm unleashed a disastrous amount of water on the tiny town of Brady’s Bend.

In a mere forty minutes, the community was annihilated by a catastrophic flash flood. Residents ran for their lives, and nine people drowned. Although rescue and recovery soon followed, the harrowing experience left a mark on the survivors that remains decades later.

Author and Brady’s Bend native Lisa Olszak Zumstein tells this community’s story in full and reveals how this devastating storm mirrors numerous others in the Appalachian corridor.

Following her retirement from more than thirty years as a successful small business owner, Lisa Olszak Zumstein found new passions in local history and writing. Lisa grew up with eight siblings in the tightly knit rural Appalachian community of Brady’s Bend, Pennsylvania, the site of a catastrophic flood in 1980. Drawing on her career as an interviewer, researcher, analyst and compelling writer, she uncovers the broader significance of this disaster. Turning complicated technical information into clear, relatable terms, Lisa captures the material and lasting emotional toll of these devastating events on everyday life in Western Pennsylvania.