Colorado Disaster Zone Spreads across 17 Counties

Death toll reaches 8, as Colorado floods destroy or damage thousands of homes

The disaster zone encompasses 17 Colorado counties, as the historic deluge, called a 500-to-1,000-year flood, forces thousands of evacuations.

The Colorado Office of Emergency Management has now raised the official death toll to eight, up from five over the weekend.

In Boulder County about 2,000 people have been evacuated, most of them airlifted by helicopters.

In Larimer County at least 1,000 people remain to be evacuated.

At least 1,500 homes have been destroyed and 4,500 damaged in Larimer County. Additionally, 200 businesses have been lost and 500 damaged.

More than 100 homes were destroyed in the town of Lyons, Boulder County, but no countywide figures were available, as of posting.

About 600 people remained unaccounted for in Larimer and Boulder counties, many believed to be stranded in remote mountain areas cut off by floodwaters and with no access to telephone, cell phone or Internet service, officials said.

Floodwaters are moving east toward Nebraska, where officials have issued multiple flood warnings.

More than 533mm (21 inches) of rain fell in parts of Boulder city, near Denver, during the week-long deluge, nearly twice the area’s average annual rainfall.

Colorado’s air rescue operations were the largest in the United States since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, said National Guard officials.

Fema and Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management announced yesterday that 12 additional counties had been added to the September 12, 2013, presidential emergency disaster declaration for the Colorado flooding in Boulder, El Paso and Larimer counties.

The additional disaster counties include Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Fremont, Jefferson, Morgan, Logan, Pueblo, Washington and Weld counties, which were affected by the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides.

Related Links

• “This is a 500-to-1,000-year flood” September 15, 2013

• N. Colorado Declared as Federal Disaster Area September 14, 2013
• Tens of Thousands Evacuated as Colorado Floods Worsen September 13, 2013
• Deadly Flooding Forces Thousands of Evacuations in Colorado September 13, 2013

• Tri- State Area Rainfall Reports (September 12, 2013)
• Flood Evacuation: overflowing dam forces evacuation of Leyden neighborhood in Jefferson County

Deadly Flooding Forces Thousands of Evacuations in Colorado

Disaster declared in flooded areas: Gov. Hickenlooper

“We’ll see what the data tells us but this could easily be a 50 or 100-year flood,” said Hickenlooper.

Disastrous flooding has caused substantial damage in parts of three Front Range counties and the governor has declared a state of emergency in Boulder County. Thousands of people have been evacuated, however, emergency crews are unable to reach residents in some towns.

Floodwaters have cut off major highways, isolated mountain towns and inundated the main campus of the University of Colorado, damaging tens of buildings, officials said.

More than 500 students and staff members were ordered evacuated.

Highway 72 is washed out in Coal Creek Canyon, Colorado. Photo credit: Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

“We have declared a disaster for the flooded areas and are requesting emergency declaration from FEMA for search and rescue and emergency protection and other support,” said Hickenlooper. “We want to get something in front of President Obama as rapidly as possible.”

“The State Emergency Center has been activated to a Level 3 category of alert or action 24/7. So they will be providing direct resources across the state to the counties affected by the flooding.”

“Part of the problem with us is not that we don’t have the equipment or the manpower it’s just the conditions haven’t permitted it. We couldn’t get up the valleys,” said Hickenlooper.

“This is completely different from the fires and yet preparation means trying to anticipate what you don’t expect. We’ve been trying to train across the state for unexpected eventualities, things that we would never expect to happen. I’m not sure that anyone laid out a scenario where Boulder County and every single county from Coal Creek to the St. Vrain got close to 8 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.” Hickenlooper said.

Not Your Ordinary Disaster

“This is not your ordinary disaster,” said Joe Pelle, the sheriff of Boulder County, where two of the deaths occurred. “All the preparation in the world, all the want-to in the world, can’t put people up those canyons while debris and walls of water are coming down.”

A message posted on the university’s Web site Thursday warned: “Wall of water coming down Boulder Canyon. STAY AWAY FROM BOULDER CREEK.”

Multiple Flash Flood Warnings, Flood Warnings and Flood Watches are in effect across Colorado, said National Weather Service (NWS).

• Tri- State Area Rainfall Reports (September 12, 2013)
• Flood Evacuation: overflowing dam forces evacuation of Leyden neighborhood in Jefferson County