Our personal Colorado flood
First things first… Tim and Imelda are OK (and I am 1000 miles away). So far, no water has intruded into their lives any more than getting a few days off work and school. I spent much of the evening talking with them on Skype, going over plans of what we need to do if they are evacuated or if water starts coming into the house. So far that has not happened.
The path of the St Vrain Creek through Longmont compared to Tim and Imelda’s location.
From what I can see from the news reports is that Boulder (SW of Longmont) is basically under water thanks to thanks to Boulder Creek that runs down the mountain and straight through the center of the city. Loveland (N of Longmont) is under water thanks to the Big Thompson river that the city is built right on top of. Lyons (W of Longmont) is inaccessible and under water as it too is built right on top of the St Vrain River that runs down the mountains. St Vrain Creek runs diagonally through Longmont from the NW to the SE of town and it too is well over the banks. Much of the Southern portion of Longmont has been evacuated.
Rescuers can not reach most of the mountain-towns as all the roads leading up the mountains are simply gone. More than 12 dams up the mountains have either failed all together or the water has gone right over the tops of the dam. Any and all rivers and creeks have topped their flood stages long ago. Three people have died, that we know of. The National Guard is out trying to rescue those in cut off areas.
Luckily, all those rivers and creeks are missing the portion of Longmont where Tim and Imelda are. They still have power and water, unlike much of the area, but that could change at any time. The rain is going to continue all weekend.
Maybe now Imelda will listen to me about preparing for the possibilities of such a disaster? Although it is not on a Katrina or Sandy scale, it would not take much for this to become a weeks long survival without power or water in a lawless disaster area… and I’m two days drive away (sigh).
