Torrential rainfall around Boulder County, Colorado has caused severe, 100-year flooding, with waters overtaking 12 damns. So far, there have been two confirmed deaths, and one confirmed missing person. The National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.have been called in to assist.
According to Boulder County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Heidi Prentup, a man died Thursday morning near Linden Avenue in Boulder, and the female passenger in the car he was driving is currently missing. Another man in Jamestown was killed when a structure collapsed. Multiple buildings in the Jamestown and Fourmile Canyon areas have been swept away by rising floodwaters. “We are still in life-safety mode,” says Prentup, and officials expect the death toll to rise.
A team of local scientists document the floodwaters in Boulder: (Audio NSFW)
Cinematographer “MrBrandash” exclaims,”I’m so wet right now!” Clearly. Luckily, no one was injured during the expedition.
According to Boulder Sheriff Joe Pelle, officials fear that more fatalities will be discovered as rescue crews make their way into the mountain towns and the most heavily flooded areas. “We’re bracing ourselves for the worst,” Pelle said. Also, according to city spokeswoman Sarah Huntley, there is added danger to the floodwater, because it contains sewage.The water in Lyons has been reported as unsafe to drink, and residents should boil it first.
Pelle said the floodwaters and debris have prevented more crews from reaching the mountain towns, and residents have been ordered to evacuate from Jamestown and Fourmile Canyon. Pelle adds that “all the preparation and want-to in the world can’t put people up the canyon while the debris and water is coming down. This is not your ordinary day, this is not your ordinary disaster.”
The University of Colorado campus was closed today, and will remain closed Friday. University spokesman Bronson Hilliard has urged students to stay indoors. “Stay away from the water,” Hilliard said, adding, “even if it’s pretty. It could be the last picture you ever take.” Interestingly, in a paper published at Colorado University in 2004, Boulder made a nationwide list of 6 “disasters waiting to happen.”
There hasn’t been a 100-year flood in Boulder since 1894, and the well-read city’s website has long said that a major flood was a question of when, and not if.