Colorado Flood Facts and Figures

Since the floods first struck in north east Colorado on 12th September:

  • 17 counties have been affected:
    Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Boulder, Clear Creek, Denver, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Pueblo, Otero, Washington, Weld, Sedgewick
  • There have been 6 fatalities – 3 in Boulder, 2 in El Paso, 1 in Clear Creek
  • 306 people are still reported as missing (as of September 19th 2013)
  • The floods have affected an area estimated to be 4,500 square miles – roughly the size of Jamaica
  • 12,118 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
  • 1,000 people had to be airlifted to safety from remote locations, the largest airlift resuce operation in USA since Katrina
  • 1,502 homes destroyed, 17,494 homes damaged
    (Colorado Office of Emergency Management estimates)
  • 30 (state-maintained) bridges destroyed, 20 (state-maintaned) bridges damaged
    (according to Colorado Department of Transportation)

Record Rainfall

Using figures for Boulder as a guideline, there have been record amounts of rainfall in the last few days.

  • On September 12th, Boulder received 9.08 inches of rain, twice the previous record amount of 4.8 inches in 1919
  • Current monthly rainfall amount for Boulder is 17.18 inches. Previous highest September rainfall was 5.5 inches in 1940
September Rainfall Totals for Boulder
September Rainfall Totals in Inches for Boulder 1893 to 2013
  • The current yearly total rainfall for 2013 (up til 16th September) is 30.14 inches, the highest amount of any previous year (and still 3 months to go)
  • Previous record amounts were 29.93 inches in 1995 and 29.03 inches in 1938
Yearly rainfall for Boulder
Yearly Rainfall Totals for Boulder, 1893 to 2013

Some estimates put the total cost of the damage of the Colorado floods at over $1 billion, twice the amout that either storm Wilma or storm Isaac cost the state of Florida.