After the drought, parts of Colorado around the Boulder region have seen as much as 7 inches (17cm) of rain in just 3 hours on the morning of Thursday September 12th. Further heavy rainfall is still expected.
Governor John Hickenlooper described it as “a staggering amount” of rainfall. “Given the drought situation we’ve had, it was almost a year’s worth of rain.”
Three people have died in the floods in 3 separate incidents, one in Boulder, one in Jamestown and the other in Colorado Springs.
Residents in several towns, including Boulder, Jamestown, Fourmile, Loveland and Longmont have been evacuated to higher ground. Emergency help centers have been set up. Flood water and debris have blocked many roads, making rescue operations more difficult.
Boulder
Emergency alerts were sent out by the Boulder Office of Emergency Management for Boulder Creek, around midnight on September 12th, due to rising water levels along Boulder Creek. Flood sirens were sounded and telephone alert messages sent out to around 8,000 residents.
According to Boulder Office of Emergency Management:
A large surge of water, mud, rocks and debris, including cars, about 30 feet deep is heading down Fourmile Creek, according to an 11:10 p.m. call to Boulder County by a resident of Emerson Gulch. The flow is expected to reach Boulder Creek at about midnight. Residents are warned to go to higher ground!
For further information and flood warnings, see the Boulder Office of Emergency Management site here.
There are around 90 roads blocked as a result of the flooding. Twelve help centrers have been set up for those who have evacuated their homes. There are also 3 animal shelters available.
A map of the affected areas, including evacuation centers, animal shelters and road blocks, has been set up on Google Maps here.
Longmont
The City of Longmont is also suffering from the floods, with numerous roads closed and mandatory curfew and evacuations. An evacuation center has been opened at the Niwot High School, 8989 E. Niwot Road.
Telephone contacts
Longmont has also opened up a Citizen Call number @ EOC for information about the flooding: 303-651-8595
If you need assistance with evacuation, please contact Longmont Communications Center (Dispatch) at their non-emergency number 303-651-8501.
For further information on the local road closures, evacuations and help lines, see the Longmont flood emergency page.
Below is a map of the current evacuation areas in Longmont:
