Colorado Floods Victims Urged 'Get Out Now'

[Lite Beer]

Colorado Floods Victims Urged 'Get Out Now'

Rescuers will not return for families who refuse to evacuate immediately as more rain threatens to swell floods, officials warn.

Thousands of people trapped by floods that swept through towns in north Colorado have been warned to leave or risk weeks without food, electricity and running water.

Authorities have carried the message into canyon communities and towns where stranded residents eager to escape the Rocky Mountain foothills used every means possible to attract the attention of rescuers.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle warned National Guard helicopters and truck convoys would not go back for people who insisted on staying.

"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," he said.

But not everybody is willing to go. Several families in the isolated community of Jamestown insisted they would stay to watch over their homes and farms.

Authorities fear a new wave of rain threatening flooded areas may hamper rescue and relief efforts.

Twenty military helicopters are available to expand the search from Boulder County east to Fort Morgan, but the window of opportunity for operations is closing.

Read More: http://news.sky.com/story/1141940/colorado-floods-victims-urged-get-out-now

--SKY NEWS 2013-09-16

[Scott]

As I understand it there are a lot of people missing in the floods. They aren't necessarily believed to be dead, but they haven't been able to make contact with them.

And more rain is expected? I don't envy the folks in that area.

[Lite Beer]

Colorado Office of Emergency Management estimates flooding damaged or destroyed nearly 19,000 homes

DENVER - 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.

Read More:http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/colorado-office-of-emergency-management-estimates-flooding-damaged-or-destroyed-nearly-19000-homes

--ABC 7 NEWS 2013-09-16

[uty6543]

I would be happy to take a calculated risk to rescue others but the stupid can wait until it is 100% safe for rescuers to return.

[rosst]

Well, I wonder if they have flood insurance?? I wonder if they will rebuild in the same areas and expect the people buying household insurance to cover their stupidity??

This is a serious problem all over the world, if you are dumb enough to build a house there serves you right. OK, someone says we will cover you. But why can they do it twice with MY money??

I find it difficult to believe that communities are permitted to re-build under these circumstances.

I am waiting for the abuse, frankly, I could not care less.

Do not expect the community to cover your stupidity.

[Tywais]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kq4tEJlqEk

[Tywais]

[puukao]

I'm currently in Boulder, Colorado. It is slightly raining now. Heavy rain the last two days, and maybe a few hours of sun in the last week. I've been here 15 years, and usually we don't get rain for months. Sometimes it will rain 1-2 times a month, so this is extremely rare. The city is roughly 5300 feet high in elevation, which is almost semi-arid and not tons of vegetation. The massive fire this year also hurt the ability of trees, etc. to soak up any moisture. Boulder is in a valley, right on the foothills. University about 35k students. Town about 150k. There is a good river that runs through the city, and when dams above the river broke and it's simply too much water coming down at once. I just hear stories of flooded basements, and the roads are filled with dirt due to the run off. I've biked every road that has been destroyed, and it's amazing how it just disintegrated. I think the school library and a few buildings on campus badly damaged, and the cost will be hundreds of millions. And all the houses in the mountains right next to any river has been washed away. 4 people lost their lives, and my feeling is the number will stay low. School just started, so worried too many kids from out-of-state tried to have fun and got in trouble. Or elderly, or people who really don't want to leave their homes. We all knew fires could erupt at any time, but an epic flood was never a conversation in the last decade+. Mudslide, yes, in the mountains. Water to cancel a university for 2 days, nope. The good news is the rain will end today and very little, if any, precipitation this week. We live in an area that is 300 feet above the city and east, so lucky.

www.dailycamera.com is the local website, pretty good.

www.denverpost.com for a little broader perspective.

[Tywais]

An off topic troll post removed and my apologies to the member whose reply to that post I had to remove.

[bonobo]

I just got out of the area. I was staying with relatives, and we were OK, but I could not get to see my mother who was isolated in Boulder. Getting to the airport was difficult as the road I was taking was closed due to flooding. I had to take a long detour to get out.

Having been trapped for three weeks in the Bangkok flooding, this flooding is nowhere near what I experienced in Thailand.

[kamahele]

Well, I wonder if they have flood insurance?? I wonder if they will rebuild in the same areas and expect the people buying household insurance to cover their stupidity??

This is a serious problem all over the world, if you are dumb enough to build a house there serves you right. OK, someone says we will cover you. But why can they do it twice with MY money??

I find it difficult to believe that communities are permitted to re-build under these circumstances.

I am waiting for the abuse, frankly, I could not care less.

Do not expect the community to cover your stupidity.

From what I understand, this is a once in a century flood so unless you were paying taxes a hundred years ago, you will only have to help them rebuild once. :-)

[Benmart]

I'm currently in Boulder, Colorado. It is slightly raining now. Heavy rain the last two days, and maybe a few hours of sun in the last week. I've been here 15 years, and usually we don't get rain for months. Sometimes it will rain 1-2 times a month, so this is extremely rare. The city is roughly 5300 feet high in elevation, which is almost semi-arid and not tons of vegetation. The massive fire this year also hurt the ability of trees, etc. to soak up any moisture. Boulder is in a valley, right on the foothills. University about 35k students. Town about 150k. There is a good river that runs through the city, and when dams above the river broke and it's simply too much water coming down at once. I just hear stories of flooded basements, and the roads are filled with dirt due to the run off. I've biked every road that has been destroyed, and it's amazing how it just disintegrated. I think the school library and a few buildings on campus badly damaged, and the cost will be hundreds of millions. And all the houses in the mountains right next to any river has been washed away. 4 people lost their lives, and my feeling is the number will stay low. School just started, so worried too many kids from out-of-state tried to have fun and got in trouble. Or elderly, or people who really don't want to leave their homes. We all knew fires could erupt at any time, but an epic flood was never a conversation in the last decade+. Mudslide, yes, in the mountains. Water to cancel a university for 2 days, nope. The good news is the rain will end today and very little, if any, precipitation this week. We live in an area that is 300 feet above the city and east, so lucky.

www.dailycamera.com is the local website, pretty good.

www.denverpost.com for a little broader perspective.

Prayers go out to all. I lived through the Denver/South Platte River Flood of 1965 and at 14 years old, I was scared to death when we were evacuated from west Denver ahead of the floods path. A horrible experience to see dozens of our neighbors homes washed away or severely damaged. I certainly hope for the best to those that are affected.

I live on the 5th floor in a condo in Pattaya and was hesitant to live on a lower floor in case we have a repeat of earlier flooding. Good luck in Boulder and Larimer counties.