Thursday, September 12, 2013

Flash floods kill at least 3 in Colorado

Trevor Hughes, Robert Garrison and Gary Strauss in USA Today: A Rocky Mountain storm system that dumped up to 10 inches over central Colorado has killed at least three people. Several cities and towns along Colorado's Front Range were bracing for more rain and flooding.

KUSA-TV reports one person was killed in the collapse of a home in Nederland, a mountain community about 20 miles north of Boulder, while Colorado Springs police said they found a second victim while patrolling west of the city. A third victim was recovered from a north Boulder home Thursday morning, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.

Rain began early in the morning on Wednesday and continued throughout the day, becoming especially heavy in the evening, AccuWeather meteorologist Courtney Spamer says. Rain fell at nearly two inches pwer hour Wednesday evening and early Thursday, according to the Weather Channel. Boulder has picked up more than six inches of rain so far.

The University of Colorado Boulder campus was closed Thursday after a torrent of water from Boulder Creek flooding buildings. Officials also closed Boulder Valley and St. Vrain district schools. Residents of Fourmile Canyon near Boulder and Coal Creek Canyon, northwest of Denver, were under mandatory evacuation orders.

"I think we have a continually dangerous situation,'' said Pelle, who urged Boulder residents to stay home. "It's not a good day to travel. It's not a good day to risk your loved one's lives. It's a good day to hunker down."...

Boulder, Colorado, at twilight, shot by Phil Armitage, public domain

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