Colorado Flooding

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at the Telegraph

Hundreds of people are unaccounted for across the US state of Colorado as heavy flooding inundates mountain communities, farms and townships in the Rockies.

AP

1:06AM BST 15 Sep 2013

Four people have been confirmed dead since the floods began on Wednesday. And hundreds of others have not been heard from in the flood zone, which has grown to cover an area covering nearly 4,500 square miles.

Some of those who are unaccounted for may be stranded or injured. Others might be safe but have not yet contacted friends and relatives, officials said.

But police expected to find more bodies as the full scope of damage becomes clear.

A woman was missing and presumed dead after witnesses saw floodwaters from the Big Thompson River destroy her home in the Cedar Cove area, Larimer County sheriff's spokesman John Schulz said.

"I expect that we're going to continue to receive reports of confirmed missing and confirmed fatalities throughout the next several days," he said.

National Guard helicopters and truck convoys broke through to paralyzed canyon communities where thousands of stranded residents were eager to escape the Rocky Mountain foothills. But not everybody was willing to go. Dozens of people in the isolated community of Jamestown wanted to stay to watch over their homes.

Authorities warned residents who chose not to leave that they might not get another chance for a while and should be prepared to endure weeks without electricity, running water and basic supplies.

"We're not trying to force anyone from their home. We're not trying to be forceful, but we're trying to be very factual and definitive about the consequences of their decision, and we hope that they will come down," Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.

Edited by Bonnie Malkin

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at Foxnews

At least 4 killed, 230 unaccounted for as floodwater inundates Colorado
Published September 14, 2013
FoxNews.com

Thousands of residents in Colorado have been driven from their homes after floodwaters cascaded downstream from the Rockies, stranding hikers and residents in rural communities slammed by days of steady rain.

Rescuers issued stern warnings Saturday to anyone thinking of staying behind: Leave now or be prepared to endure weeks without electricity, running water and basic supplies.

National Guard helicopters and truck convoys carried the admonition into paralyzed canyon communities where thousands of stranded residents were eager to escape the Rocky Mountain foothills. But not everybody was willing to go. Dozens of people in the isolated community of Jamestown wanted to stay to watch over their homes.

"Essentially, what they were threatening us with is, 'If you stay here, you may be here for a month,'" said 79-year-old Dean Hollenbaugh, who was evacuated by Chinook helicopter from Jamestown, northwest of Boulder.

By midday Saturday, nearly 800 people had been evacuated, National Guard Master Sgt. Cheresa Theiral said. More than 700 people spent Friday night in shelters, according to the Red Cross.

Officials said Saturday at least four people have been killed in the flooding, while The Denver Post reported that 230 people are unaccounted for as of Saturday afternoon. Police expected to find more bodies as the full scope of damage emerges.

The flooding has affected parts of a 4,500-square-mile area, almost the size of Connecticut.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told KDVR.com that although floodwaters have started to recede, officials do not yet know how many structures were lost.

"Please be patient. This is an unprecedented event," Pelle told residents.

For those awaiting an airlift, Guardsmen dropped food, water and other supplies in Jamestown and other small towns in the winding, narrow canyons that dot the Rocky Mountain foothills.

Thousands of evacuees sought shelter in cities that were nearly surrounded by raging rivers spilling over their banks.

One was Mary Hemme, 62, who displayed a pair of purple socks as she sat outside the Lifebridge Christian Church in Longmont. They're a memento of the more than 30 hours she spent in an elementary school in the flood-stricken mountain town of Lyons. Many evacuees — eventually rescued by National Guard trucks — got socks because most of them had wet feet, Hemme said.

She recalled the sirens blared at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"Mary we have to go, this place is flooding," she recalled her friend Kristen Vincent saying as they clambered out of a trailer.

"And we stepped out of the trailer, onto the ground where the cars were parked, and it already like this, almost to our knees," she said. "It wasn't just sitting there. It was rushing at us."

Soon the trailer, like others in the park where she was staying, was submerged.

Hemme said she walked up at hill a daybreak and surveyed the trailer park.

"The most terrifying thing was when I climbed up on that cliff and looked down. It was the meanest, most — I mean, no wonder it carries cars like toys," Hemme said. "I was so afraid that I was going to die, that water came so fast."

The dayslong rush of water from higher ground has turned towns on Colorado's expansive eastern plains into muddy swamps. Crews used inflatable boats to rescue families and pets from stranded farmhouses. Some evacuees on horseback had to be escorted to safe ground.

Near Greeley, some 35 miles east of the foothills, broad swaths of farmland had become lakes, and hundreds of roads were closed or damaged by floodwaters. A 70-mile stretch of Interstate 25 was closed from Denver to the Wyoming line.

Rocky Mountain National Park closed Friday, its visitors forced to leave via the 60-mile Trail Ridge Road to the west side of the Rockies.

It will be weeks, if not months, before a semblance of normalcy returns to Lyons, a gateway community to the park. The town, surrounded by sandstone cliffs whose color was reflected in the raging St. Vrain River, consisted of six islands Friday as residents barbecued their food before it spoiled. Several people set up a tent camp on a hill.

Residents were being evacuated from Lyons, but Hilary Clark was left walking around her neighborhood Friday.

Two bridges that led into the area were washed away. Unlike other parts of Lyons that had been reached by the National Guard in high clearance trucks, no such help had arrived for Clark.

"We're surviving on what we got," she said. "Some of us have ponds in our backyard and we're using that water and boiling it."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2013/...#ixzz2ev5mgJGY

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at CNN

Colorado floods: Dramatic rescues as more rain arrives
By David Simpson and Nick Valencia, CNN
updated 8:16 PM EDT, Sat September 14, 2013

Boulder, Colorado (CNN) -- Heavy storms returned to northeastern Colorado on Saturday as rescuers scrambled to take advantage of breaks in the weather to continue reaching stranded residents.

The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of Arapahoe and Adams counties and eastern Denver. The service said 1.73 inches of rain fell in less than 30 minutes at one spot in southeastern Denver.

"We just got ... a forecast that we could get 2 to 4 inches of rain, which could be devastating," Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told reporters shortly after 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET).

The agency expected thunderstorms across the region Saturday evening and more rain at least through Sunday.

Authorities are worried that any additional water on ground soaked by up to 15 inches of rain will cause more flooding and dislodge mud and debris.

At least four people have been killed.

In addition, a 60-year-old woman was presumed dead after witnesses saw her being swept away by waters that demolished her home, said Nick Christensen, executive officer of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. Neighbors tried unsuccessfully to rescue the woman, Christensen said. Her body had not been recovered.

The sheriff's office said that about 350 people were unaccounted for in Larimer County. That number jumped sharply Saturday afternoon as rescuers reached more empty homes. The sheriff's office lists such residents as unaccounted for until they are located elsewhere.

In neighboring Boulder County, 172 were on the "unaccounted for" list.

"We're assuming some of them have been stranded. We're assuming that some made their way out and simply haven't contacted us or friends and family to get off the list. We're assuming that there may be further loss of life or injuries," Pelle said.

A surveillance mission carrying Gov. John Hickenlooper and members of Colorado's congressional delegation was diverted twice to pick up people waving to be rescued.

After the officials' delayed arrival at a Boulder airport, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall said, "That dog and the cat and those seven people on those two helicopters didn't ask us whether we were Democrats or Republicans." And he promised a bipartisan push in Congress for federal aid for flood recovery.

Hickenlooper said he spoke by phone with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who "was adamant that the $5 million that was released yesterday was just the beginning" of federal assistance.

Experts from Vermont will arrive next week to share lessons learned about improved road-building in the wake of Hurricane Irene, the governor said.

Hickenlooper said he saw many damaged roads with "not just the asphalt taken away, but the entire roadbed, and bridge after bridge missing."

But he promised, "We're going to come back and rebuild better than it was before."

Boulder County alone will need an estimated $150 million to repair 100 to 150 miles of roadway and 20 to 30 bridges, county transportation director George Gerstle said. The repair bill will be "10 to 15 times our annual budget," he said.

Evacuations continued Saturday, but were hindered by drainage issues and flooded roadways, he said. Many residents are isolated.

"It's a sinking feeling," Sheriff Pelle said of knowing that emergency responders may not be able to reach everyone who needs help.

The National Guard had rescued more than 1,200 people in Boulder County by Saturday afternoon, Lt. Col Mitch Utterback said.

In Larimer County, there were 46 medical rescues on Friday alone, the sheriff's office said.

Pelle said authorities have to be "realistic" about the chances that the death toll will rise as rescuers penetrate further into isolated areas.

The four confirmed deaths included a woman who was swept away when she got out of her car Thursday in Boulder County. A man jumped out of the car to save her. Both drowned. Authorities recovered both bodies, Pelle said.

Another body was found in a collapsed home in Jamestown in the same county. Rescuers recovered another body on a roadway in Colorado Springs in El Paso County.

In Denver, rushing waters swept a man into a drainage pipe with his dog. Both were saved after traveling two blocks in the water, police said.

President Barack Obama declared an emergency for Boulder, Larimer and El Paso counties, FEMA announced Friday. The declaration allowed FEMA to bring in four rescue teams, the largest ever deployment in Colorado, officials said.

The clear skies allowed for an uptick in evacuations Friday and earlier Saturday.

National Guard troops using "high-profile" trucks to wade through water evacuated 550 people from the Boulder County town of Lyons, CNN affiliate KUSA reported.

It had been cut off since the flooding began Wednesday night -- without water or sewer service, in many cases without electricity.

Emotional rescues

Melinda Villa was stranded in her apartment with her 1-month-old baby in the inundated town. She had no phone service, no water and was running out of formula and food.

Then the National Guard arrived.

"It just really felt like God came down and saved us," she said.

Some had to rescue themselves.

Catherine Smith and Mandy Stepanovsky lived in a part of Lyons that is accessible only by bridges.

"When those became compromised -- one bridge completely blew out and the other one was very much impassible -- we started looking at other options," Smith said.

So the couple decided to hike for 2 miles to safety -- with their 8-month-old toddler in their arms. Walking was the only way out.

They hiked to Smith's brother's house, where they showered and ate a meal before the weather caught up with them again.

A mudslide suddenly brought mud, debris and water through the house, Smith said. They were forced to run to higher ground.

"It was terrifying," Smith said.

Jonathan Linenberger described a Noah's Ark-style evacuation as he, his fiancee, four dogs and three cats greeted the National Guard truck.

"We had to go (through) knee-deep water, at least. We had to wade our animals across into the truck to get them there," said Linenberger. "That was the first thing you can grab, your loved ones -- and that's what we have."

The National Guard also was evacuating the entire population -- 285 people -- from the town of Jamestown by helicopter, CNN affiliate KCNC-TV reported.

In Larimer County, Sheriff Justin Smith surveyed the heavily damaged Big Thompson Canyon by air Friday. Some people remain stranded in homes there, he said, "How we're going to get them out -- it's going to take a damn long time."

However, he said the break in the rain allowed school buses to begin evacuating students who had been stranded at a school.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at The Washington Post

Rescuers issue stern warning to Colorado evacuees: Leave now or be prepared to stay for weeks

By Associated Press, Published: September 13 | Updated: Saturday, September 14, 6:14 PM

BOULDER, Colo. — As rescuers broke through to flood-ravaged Colorado towns, they issued a stern warning Saturday to anyone thinking of staying behind: Leave now or be prepared to endure weeks without electricity, running water and basic supplies.

National Guard helicopters and truck convoys carried the admonition into paralyzed canyon communities where thousands of stranded residents were eager to escape the Rocky Mountain foothills. But not everybody was willing to go. Dozens of people in the isolated community of Jamestown wanted to stay to watch over their homes.

National Guard troops began evacuating hundreds of Jamestown, Colorado residents that have been stranded without power or water for more than a day. Rain is expected to continue over the weekend.

Authorities made clear that residents who chose not to leave might not get another chance for a while.

“We’re not trying to force anyone from their home. We’re not trying to be forceful, but we’re trying to be very factual and definitive about the consequences of their decision, and we hope that they will come down,” Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.

Special education teacher Brian Shultz, 38, was torn about leaving his Jamestown home.

“I was thinking about staying. I could have lasted at least a year. I have a lot of training in wilderness survival,” he said, adding that he probably had enough beer to last the whole time.

As he sat outside a makeshift shelter at a high school, Shultz floated the idea of walking back into the funky mountain town.

“If we hike back, I would stay there and just live. I’d rather be at our own house than staying at some other people’s houses,” he said.

His wife, Meagan Harrington, gave him a wry smile. About 10 of their neighbors declined to evacuate, she said.

“They said they wouldn’t force you, but it was strongly encouraged,” she said.

Shultz teared up behind his sunglasses as he compared his situation to that of his neighbors.

“At least all of our stuff’s there and will be there when we get back. The people right by the river, their houses were washed away. Other people thought their houses were going to be OK, and then they started to go. It’s just really devastating.”

Across the foothills, rescuers made progress against the floodwaters. But they were still unable to go up many narrow canyon roads that were either underwater or washed out.

On Saturday, the surge of water reached the plains east of the mountains, cutting off more communities and diverting some rescue operations.

Four people have been confirmed dead since the harrowing floods began Wednesday. And hundreds of others have not been heard from in the flood zone, which has grown to cover portions of an area nearly the size of Connecticut.

Some of those who are unaccounted for may be stranded or injured. Others might have gotten out but not yet contacted friends and relatives, officials said.

Police expected to find more bodies as the full scope of damage emerges.

A woman was missing and presumed dead after witnesses saw floodwaters from the Big Thompson River destroy her home in the Cedar Cove area, Larimer County sheriff’s spokesman John Schulz said.

“I expect that we’re going to continue to receive reports of confirmed missing and confirmed fatalities throughout the next several days,” he said.

[ElevenBravo]

Thats pretty messed up! Floods ala Katrina maybe? 2A and 4A door kick & gun confiscation yet to follow? (If the poor people even have guns in the commie state that is...).

At any measure, it is sad news. I hope some at least prepped up and can ride it out. Not everyone has a second place to go or money to get a room... and we all know with what kind of lightning speed F3MA leaps into action...


EB

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at Reuters

Rains pound flood-ravaged Colorado, woman may be fifth fatality
Colorado flooding suspected to have claimed another life
2:47am EDT

By Keith Coffman

WELD COUNTY, Colo. | Sun Sep 15, 2013 4:06am EDT

(Reuters) - Relentless rains pounded flood-ravaged eastern Colorado for a fifth day on Saturday, triggering more evacuations and warnings as rescuers tried to reach thousands of people displaced or stranded by the deluge that has been blamed for at least four deaths.

Flooding from days of unprecedented rainfall in the semi-arid region has destroyed homes and closed or washed out bridges and roads from mountain canyons from metropolitan Denver to the eastern plains.

A surge from swollen rivers and creeks has flooded downstream farming counties in northeastern Colorado, prompting the evacuation on Saturday of several towns along the South Platte River.

"This is a 500-to-1,000-year flood," Sean Conway, a commissioner of rural Weld County, said at a news conference.

Some areas have seen more than 15 inches of rain in a span of three days, which is above average rainfall totals for an entire year, the National Weather Service said.

National Guard troops have joined local emergency crews stretched thin by the scope of the disaster to team up on search and rescue missions.

Beginning on Monday, seasonal monsoon rains stalled over a swath of Colorado's urban corridor, extending from near the Wyoming border to Colorado Springs, some 130 miles to the south.

By Wednesday night, the saturated mountain canyons west of the population centers could no longer absorb more water, and floodwaters cascaded down into the foothills, particularly in Boulder where thousands fled the rising waters.

Four people are confirmed dead from the flooding, and a fifth victim, a 60-year-old woman, is missing and feared dead after witnesses saw her mountain home swept away by floodwaters, authorities in Larimer County said.

Among the dead were a couple who stopped their car northwest of Boulder and were swept away by flood waters. Both bodies were recovered, the man's on Thursday and the woman's on Friday.

Another casualty was found in a collapsed building near Jamestown, an evacuated enclave north of Boulder, and still another, a man in Colorado Springs, about 100 miles to the south, officials said.

MORE FATALITIES LIKELY

Nearly 250 people are unaccounted for in two flooded counties, and though many may just be out of communication, officials warned that the death toll could rise.

"Given the destruction, there is a high probability" of more fatalities, said Sheriff Joe Pelle of Boulder County, where three of the fatalities occurred.

Ashlee Herring, a spokeswoman for the Boulder Office of Emergency Management said, "All the roads on the western side of the county are lost - they're gone."

The Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District sent out a message warning trapped residents that rescuers were having difficulty reaching them.

"We continue to have new landslides and road collapses," the statement said.

Rescue crews got a break when the rains let up on Friday, but by Saturday afternoon the rains returned, prompting the National Weather Service to issue flash flood warnings for canyons west of the Denver metro area.

"This event has stunned all of us," U.S. Senator Mark Udall said after touring the devastated area by air with Governor John Hickenlooper and other members of the state's congressional delegation on Saturday.

The elected officials' tour was interrupted when the crew of the National Guard helicopter they were flying in dropped down to rescue seven trapped people.

One of the hardest hit areas occurred in Weld County where the swollen St. Vrain, Big Thompson and Cache La Poudre rivers empty into the South Platte River. Rescuers in boats pulled trapped residents from flooded farms and mobile home parks.

Further downstream in Morgan County, the farming communities of Weldona, Goodrich, Muir Springs and Orchard were under evacuation orders.

The size and scope of property losses were unknown, with county assessment teams not likely to begin evaluation of the damage before early next week, once the water has receded, said Micki Frost, spokeswoman for the Colorado Office of Emergency Management.

The flooding was the worst in the state since 1976, when nearly 150 people died in Larimer County in a flash flood along the Big Thompson Canyon.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Philip Barbara)

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at BBCnews

Colorado flooding rescue operation continues

Roads have been washed away in parts of Colorado, as Alastair Leithead reports

The US state of Colorado is continuing a large-scale rescue operation after severe flooding left five dead and hundreds unaccounted for.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate from affected communities.

The National Guard has been deployed to one town to supply food and water while inhabitants await rescue.

Although flood waters are now subsiding, more rain has been forecast and authorities have warned of more possible flash flooding.

A spokesman for Boulder County said that 200 people were still unaccounted for, but said that some of them may simply be out of contact with family and friends, or awaiting rescue.

However, the sheriff of Boulder County, Joe Pelle, said officials are "assuming that there may be further loss of life or injuries".

"I hope and pray that's not the case but, given the devastation in some of those closed canyons, it's certainly a high probability," Mr Pelle said.

Mr Pelle said that emergency services had not been to respond to residents in some areas because the damage to the road network had been so bad.

While National Guard helicopters and truck convoys have managed to reach stranded canyon communities where thousands of stranded residents are eager to escape the Rocky Mountain foothills, not everybody was willing to go.

Dozens of people in the isolated community of Jamestown wanted to stay and watch over their homes despite being warned against doing so by the authorities.

Rescuers are using helicopters to airlift those still stranded in the mountain village of Jamestown, the BBC's Alastair Leithead reports from Los Angeles.

The National Guard has been using large trucks to get through the floodwaters in the town of Lyons to deliver food and water to those stills trapped by the floodwaters.

Towns such as Jamestown, Lyons and Longmont have been reduced to islands by the swirling waters.

Days of heavy rain have caused severe damage to property and forced the rescue of more than 2,500 people, Boulder County authorities have said.

More than 15in (38cm) of rain - nearly half the region's annual average - fell in a single week, according to the National Weather Service.

President Barack Obama has signed an emergency order approving federal disaster aid for Boulder County.

On Saturday, Colorado's Office of Emergency Management issued further evacuation orders on its Twitter feed for several rural communities.

The torrent began on Wednesday, and has been dubbed a "100-year flood" by officials.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper told local radio earlier this week that there had been "a staggering amount" of rainfall.

"Given the drought situation we've had, it was almost a year's worth of rain," he said on the KBCO radio station.

Part of US Highway 36 was closed after it was washed out, and several other stretches of road in the state have had to be shut.

A 20ft (6m) wall of water was reported in Left Hand Canyon, north of Boulder on Thursday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Kleyla.

The prolonged rain has been blamed on a low-pressure weather system hovering over Nevada which is drawing moist air out of Mexico into the Rockies' foothills.

With hillsides stripped by recent wildfires, the water was funnelled through narrow canyons, worsening the impact of the floods.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at The Guardian

Colorado floods intensify as rescue efforts to save stranded residents go on

Helicopters and truck convoys sent by the National Guard called up to help people from the growing disaster

By air and by land, rescue operations have accelerated for hundreds of Coloradoans threatened by mountain flooding that threatens to strand them, while thousands more have been driven from their homes on the plains as debris-filled rivers became muddy seas swallowing towns and farms miles from the Rockies.

On Saturday, for the first time since the harrowing mountain floods began on Wednesday, Colorado got its first broad view of the devastation and reality of what is becoming a long-term disaster. The flooding has affected parts of an area ranging 4,500 square miles.

National Guard helicopters evacuated 295 people, plus pets, from the mountain hamlet of Jamestown, which was isolated by flooding that rushed into the canyon in which town sits. Helicopters continued to fly in and out late into the night. National Guard trucks returned to Lyons Saturday morning to convoy residents, and helicopters have been sent back to the mountain communities.

By Saturday morning, the Guard had evacuated a total of 518 people by ground, and additional helicopters were going to aid the rescue efforts, said Master Sergeant Cheresa Theiral. "We're going wherever we're being tasked," Theiral said. "We have the ability to go whenever, wherever."

The outlook for anyone who'd rather stay is weeks without power, phone service, water or safe waste disposal. "Essentially, what they were threatening us with is, 'If you stay here, you may be here for a month,'" said 79-year-old Dean Hollenbaugh, who was evacuated by helicopter from Jamestown, northwest of Boulder.

For those awaiting an airlift, Guardsmen dropped food, water and other supplies in Jamestown and other small towns in the winding, narrow canyons that dot the Rocky Mountain foothills. Thousands of evacuees sought shelter from mountain communities to downriver towns where the rivers were still swelling and spilling over their banks Saturday.

One was Mary Hemme, 62, who displayed a pair of purple socks as she sat outside the Lifebridge Christian Church in Longmont. They're a memento of the more than 30 hours she spent in an elementary school in the flood-stricken mountain town of Lyons. Many evacuees eventually rescued by National Guard trucks got socks because most of them had wet feet, Hemme said.

She recalled the sirens blared at 2.30am Wednesday. "Mary we have to go, this place is flooding," she recalled her friend saying as they clambered out of a trailer. Soon the trailer, like others in the park where she was staying, was submerged.

Hemme said she walked up a hill at daybreak and surveyed the trailer park. "The most terrifying thing was when I climbed up on that cliff and looked down. It was the meanest, most I mean, no wonder it carries cars like toys," Hemme said. "I was so afraid that I was going to die, that water came so fast."

The days-long rush of water from higher ground has killed four people and turned towns on Colorado's expansive eastern plains into swamps. Crews used inflatable boats to rescue families and pets from stranded farmhouses. Some evacuees on horseback had to be escorted to safe ground.

Boulder County officials said Friday night that the number of people unaccounted for had risen to 172, according to local television and newspaper reports. The officials said earlier that the unaccounted for figure doesn't necessarily represent missing people. "It means we haven't heard back from them," county spokesman James Burrus said.

The city of Boulder reported late Friday that the rushing waters had caused "a significant breach in its main wastewater pipeline" to the treatment plant, but officials said it would not affect drinking water.

Near Greeley, some 35 miles east of the foothills, broad swaths of farmland had become lakes, the Greeley Tribune reported. Hundreds of roads were closed or damaged by floodwaters, and a 70-mile stretch of Interstate 25 was closed from Denver to the Wyoming line.

Rocky Mountain National Park closed Friday, its visitors forced to leave via the 60-mile Trail Ridge Road to the west side of the Rockies.

It will be weeks, if not months, before a semblance of normalcy returns to Lyons, a gateway community to the park, where 2,500 residents were being evacuated. The town, surrounded by sandstone cliffs, consisted of six islands Friday as residents cooked their food before it spoiled. Several people set up a tent camp on a hill.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said recovery would be long and expensive, and similar to efforts after the wildfires the state is more familiar with.

"Please be patient. This is an unprecedented event," Pelle said.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at AP

Sep 14, 8:05 PM EDT

Flooding brings tales of rescues, improvisation

By HANNAH DREIER, P. SOLOMON BANDA and MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- As people came down from the flooded foothills of the Colorado Rockies, they brought tales of dramatic rescues, heartbreaking loss and neighbors coming together to protect their families and homes. Here are a few of their stories:

---

Emma Hardy's husband woke her up Wednesday night to say a well-loved neighbor had been killed by a mudslide that crushed his Jamestown home. From that point on, the 46-year-old artist and her family were in constant motion, knocking on doors and trying to get people out.

But within hours, a new, impassable river formed and bisected the town.

"It was totally biblical," Hardy said. "And then it just started getting worse and worse."

They watched a 10-foot-high culvert smash their deck. By the time the rain slowed, the house was in the water, but, Hardy made sure to point out, "still standing."

A rental property Hardy owned was completely washed away.

"It's the river's house now," a neighbor observed outside an evacuation drop-off point at a high school.

Like many Jamestown residents, Hardy said she did not begin to process the scale of the disaster until she was flying away from the town.

"When you're bailing out buckets of water, you're not really thinking about anything. Now it's starting to sink in," she said.

---

The creek outside Terry Kishiyama's home just outside Lyons washed away the family's drinking well and much of their land.

"The river was just getting higher and higher to the point where we thought we were going to die," he said after walking off a school bus of evacuees. "You couldn't even talk because it was so loud."

Kishiyama, his wife, 5-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter hiked to a neighbor's house on higher ground. They shared a single toothbrush as they waited several days for rescue. Helicopters flew by in the distance, though none came near their location until Saturday morning.

Then, a military helicopter appeared across the river. Kishiyama's son whipped off his orange T-shirt and waved it over his head.

His wife shouted, "We have babies!"

Kishiyama made eye contact with the pilot. Finally, he knew they would be safe.

---

Residents along Gregory Creek near Boulder joined with students from the nearby University of Colorado in a frantic effort to save homes.

They raided each other's yards for flagstones, filled garbage bags with sand and used whatever else they could to make berms and divert the water away from the houses. Along the alley, which had turned into a fast-moving river, they strung a rope so they could safely maneuver.

The diversion tactics worked. Many of the homes had basement flooding, and some kitchens were damaged, but all the houses remained intact.

A conflict arose Saturday when city crews with dump trucks and front-end loaders showed up to remove some of the residents' handiwork. After some protests from homeowners, the crews left many of the diversion berms in place.

"People are extremely relieved, but we're not out of it yet," Charles Corfield said.

---

At Ted's Place, a convenience store at the entrance to Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins, dark clouds gathered Saturday afternoon with the threat of more rain. Michael Sronce made his way down from his home in the canyon to get milk and bread for a neighbor with seven children.

"There's a lot of people up there who need food and need to get out," he said.

He and his wife had initially been told to evacuate but couldn't because the river was flowing over the bridge to their house. On Saturday, Sronce was able to get down the road to the convenience store, stopping short of a traffic checkpoint and walking the rest of the way so he wouldn't be kept from returning to his home if he drove past the checkpoint.

"These trees were coming down the river and would hit the abutment to the bridge, and the earth would shake. So much power," Sronce said.

Sronce endured major flooding and runoff in the area two years ago, but said the water this time was 3 to 4 feet higher.

---

For a group of grinning, super-fit men and women, the flooding offered a real-life test of the skills they were learning in a wilderness survival course at a campground.

As they got off a school bus Saturday, the happy campers shouted boasts among themselves about how long they could have lasted in the wild.

"There were rabbits around. There were fish in the pond, water - you just make a charcoal filter and boil it," said Norwell Therien, who wore camouflage cargo shorts and several earrings and is starting an emergency preparedness company. "We could have been up there for the two weeks they speculated it would take to fix the roads without problem. I would have been cool with it."

The torrential rain became a lesson in how to deal with washed-out trails.

"With our background in survival, we were perfectly content to just continue our class. We were all taking notes in the rain." Therien said. "I had already begun scouting out where you might find a rabbit or where the deer might come."

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at cbslocal

Officials Say Nearly 19,000 Homes Damaged, Destroyed In Flooding
September 15, 2013 4:31 PM

DENVER (AP) – Colorado emergency management officials have released an initial estimate that says the ongoing flooding has damaged or destroyed nearly 19,000 homes.

The Colorado Office of Emergency Management estimated Sunday on its website that 17,494 homes have been damaged and 1,502 destroyed.

In addition, 11,700 people have been evacuated and a total of 1,253 people are unaccounted for.

County officials have said that number fluctuates as stranded residents re-establish communication with family, friends or authorities.

The flooding is spread across parts of 15 counties.

The recent floods are impacting families and communities throughout Colorado, so CBS4 has compiled a list of ways you can support the local communities impacted by the floods.

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