No One Had a Tongue to Speak: The Untold Story of One of History’s Deadliest Floods

This title offers a fascinating and thoroughly researched examination of the little-known, but devastating Machhu Dam disaster in India. On August 11, 1979, after a week of extraordinary monsoon rains in the Gujurat province of India, the two-mile long Machhu Dam-II disintegrated. The waters released from dam’s massive reservoir rushed through the heavily populated downstream area, devastating the city of Morbi and its surrounding villages. While no firm figure has ever been set on the final death toll, estimates have run as high as 25,000. Despite the enormous scale of the devastation, few people have ever heard of this tragic event. Based on more than 130 interviews and extensive archival research, No One Had a Tongue To Speak tells, for the first time, the tragic story of the Machhu Dam disaster - from the centuries old folk-tale foretelling the destruction of Morbi, to an examination of the lasting legacy of the flood on its survivors and the region itself.