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Newsela Flooding Article

Record rains in Colorado caused severe flooding that left hundreds of people missing or dead. Major flooding washed out bridges and roads, cutting off several communities. The number of people listed as missing rose to over 700 across Boulder and Larimer counties, though officials hoped many were simply unable to contact authorities. The flooding destroyed dozens of homes and bridges, and damaged over 4,500 square miles of eastern Colorado. Rescue efforts were hindered by ongoing rains and power outages in hard-hit mountain areas.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
117 views3 pages

Newsela Flooding Article

Record rains in Colorado caused severe flooding that left hundreds of people missing or dead. Major flooding washed out bridges and roads, cutting off several communities. The number of people listed as missing rose to over 700 across Boulder and Larimer counties, though officials hoped many were simply unable to contact authorities. The flooding destroyed dozens of homes and bridges, and damaged over 4,500 square miles of eastern Colorado. Rescue efforts were hindered by ongoing rains and power outages in hard-hit mountain areas.

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Record rains spawn severe flooding

in Colorado; number of missing


rises
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.16.13
Word Count 582

Floodwaters rush down Cheyenne Creek as storms continued to hit the front range in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013. Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Colorado Springs Gazette/MCT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. Rescue and recovery teams in Colorado


continued their efforts on Sunday. Major ooding has soaked the state and
hundreds of people remained unaccounted for, meaning no one knew where
they were. The number of people dead and missing continued to rise.
Ofcials said there were at least 700 Coloradans still listed as missing in Boulder
and Larimer counties. Flooding washed out bridges and roads. Several central
Colorado communities have been cut off.
Gov. John Hickenlooper said he hoped that many of the missing were simply
unable to get in touch. He hoped they were already out of danger or staying
with friends.
But, he added, were still bracing. I mean, there are many, many homes that
have been destroyed. The governor made his comments on CNN.

Houses Washed Away By Flooding


Larimer County police said an 80-year-old woman had probably been killed.
That brings the death toll to six, at least for now.
A Larimer County spokesman said the woman was injured and could not get out
of her house as oodwaters began surrounding it. The house was gone when
neighbors came back to get her out. The woman is missing. Ofcials assume
she is dead.
It began raining on Monday. By Wednesday the rainfall had set records. The
National Weather Service reported as much as 9 to 10 inches of rain falling in
just hours in many areas. The rain was too much for the ground to handle. It was
already soaked.
Heavy rains also stopped some rescue efforts.
Floods have damaged 4,500 square miles of eastern Colorado. As many as 100
roadways are damaged. Raging waters were so bad they turned into 15- to 20foot walls of water smashing through the area. The water destroyed dozens of
bridges
Boulder County was the hardest hit. Ofcials said that by Saturday, 3,500
people wre still ordered to stay away from home in the city of Boulder. Another
5,500 were under those evacuation orders in Longmont. At least 3,600
customers were without gas and 3,000 were without electricity just in Boulder.

Communications Breakdowns Hinder Rescue


Things were worse in the mountains. Power has been out for days. People have
been told to boil their water while waiting for supplies and evacuation.
Thousands of evacuees sought shelter.
As of Sunday morning, there are 234 people unaccounted for in Boulder
County, said Liz Donaghey of the Boulder Ofce of Emergency Management.
Larimer County authorities said 482 people were unaccounted for.
Donaghey stressed that not everyone on the list was missing. She hoped the
number would become more clear as authorities try to remove names that are
on the list more than once.
It has been difcult to get accurate numbers of the missing because phones are
not working in some of the hardest-hit areas.
Phone service was restored to some areas, so authorities hoped they could
reach more people.

But Things Starting To Look Up


The National Guard has rescued 1,700 people from isolated areas. But heavy
rains have sometimes grounded helicopters, which have been important tools
for reaching people where roads washed out.
Still, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said things were starting to look up.
I can tell you, while I felt hopeless on Friday, I felt a lot of hope, a lot of energy
yesterday, Smith said.
He became emotional as he described how he thought the communities would
come back from the disaster inch by inch, mile by mile, community by
community.
Theyre doing it, Smith said, his voice breaking. People are getting those
things done out there.

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