Storm of the Century

Colorado is a notoriously dry place; just read my blog for the last couple of years and you will see the endless monotony of fires, drought and dryness.  The last 'flood' I remember was in the early 90's (maybe 1993?) when the river a block behind our house almost touched the bridge.  On Wednesday September 11, 2013- that all changed. 

I was at a scripture study group at the church from 7-8pm and was inside and unaware that it had started to rain.  Ben came to the church and interrupted our group at 7:45 to tell everyone to go home because the parking lot and roads were flooding.  That night Ben went to the Newson's house and dug trenches to re-route the water flooding their basement untill almost midnight.  The next morning, it was still raining, he went to work but was being bombarded with flood reports (from the Elder's Quorum) and around town.  His work sent everyone home in the early afternoon to work from home until further notice (his office was closed for days) and Ben went to help some more people in our ward with basement flooding.  (It took him over an hour to get home because of road closures and weather conditions.)

All day Thursday Elizabeth and I stayed home (who wants to go out in the rain) and called people making sure their houses weren't flooding and they were okay.  Yet, still at this point we did not know the full magnitude of what was happening.  Friday morning the rain, where we lived, stopped for a short time but we could still hear rushing water.  Curious we went outside and found that the farm (across the street from us) was completely flooded and full of rushing water (the small creek- that I didn't even know was there- had filled and flooded over).  The debris was three feet up in the fences and trees and the road was completely demolished and washed out by the water.  I know started to realize the intensity of this storm.   

 

We learned that Longmont was really bad but for days the roads were all closed and we could not get in to help. Mom and Dad's house was fine but the house we grew up in flooded (from the small river a block away) and there was a lot of flooding in their ward.  Lyons was gone, washed down the river, and most mountain towns were left helpless because the roads were all washed away.  River's rerouted and destroyed neighborhoods miles from the original rivers.  People we left stranded and homeless.

I am shocked at the amount and magnitude of damage that water can cause.   Now, weeks later, looking at the damage and the still ongoing repairs I am stunned.  I am grateful that we were able to go and do so much service (more on that to come) and help people through this horrible and unexpected disaster.

Here is some news on the floods:

- The 9.08 inches that fell on Sept. 12 was an all-time single-day record, nearly doubling the previous record of 4.80 inches set on July 31, 1919.

- Between Monday and Friday (Sept 9-13) about 15 inches fell (There has been more rainfall in the three days than over a typical six month period). The records are even more extreme when you consider that September is normally one of the drier months in Colorado. Typically, Boulder gets about 1.5 inches of rain in September. The record before now was 5.5 inches, set in 1940. Boulder has already set a record for the most yearly rainfall (30.13 inches), and there are 3-1/2 months remaining in the year.  

- Rainfall totals across Boulder area were enough to qualify it as a 1 in 1,000 year event. This is a 0.1% chance of occurring in any given year.   “This doesn’t mean that such a rainfall would literally be expected once every thousand years, like clockwork,” writes Bob Henson of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Rather, it’s a statement of probability: a 1000-year rainfall has a 0.1% chance of occurring in any given year.”

-  This rare event has lead people, including the National Weather Service, to label the storm as “Biblical.” It may seem strange that a scientific organization dedicated to climate research would use such a label, but there are reasons for this. The Bible actually contains many references to storms and severe weather conditions symbolizing events out of our control.

- Statewide, 12,118 people are under mandatory evacuation orders. The biggest airlift operation since hurricane Katrina (2005) helped evacuate more than 1,000 residents in remote mountain towns that had been completely cut off due to washed-out roads. Fourteen shelters are currently operating, housing nearly 500 people. There are at least six confirmed fatalities due to the flood, and two more people in Larimer County are missing and presumed dead.

Peak to Peak Highway

Peak to Peak Highway

Lefthand Canyon

 - Initial figures from the Colorado Office of Emergency Management say that 1,502 residential structures were destroyed and 17,494 were damaged. Those totals are almost certain to rise.  At least 50 bridges in the state are severely damaged or destroyed with 200 miles of roads impacted by the flooding. Federal officials have put preliminary estimates on the cost of repairing infrastructure at $40 million for roads and $112 million for bridges.

Lyons, CO

Neighborhood in Longmont

 

9/14/13- For the first time since the harrowing floods began Wednesday, Colorado got its first broad view of the devastation. Floodwaters have affected parts of a 4,500-square-mile (11,655-square-kilometer) area — an area the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut.