Holding down the fort in Boulder, CO Flood
So its official, the whole town is shut down and closed due to massive flooding. Last night we got about a dozen texts from the local authorities, updating on rain fall/ closures/ evacuations/ warnings to get to higher ground. As I work remotely from my kitchen table, I am constantly getting updates via text msg, facebook (much better then the news) and I am live streaming the police scanner:
We have massive rock/mud slides in Boulder Canyon, a women giving birth, cars in ditches with people in and out of the water, business’ alarms going off all over town, an elderly couple trapped in their home and in need of medical attention but police are unable to reach them so Boulder Sheriff has requested a boat to reach the couple, people whom have tried to get to work have now called to be rescued off the top of their cars, police have just gotten a canoe from a neighbor of the old folks and are paddling over now, dive teams are in high demand for swift water rescues all over town ….all of this has been reported in the amount of time it took to type those issues; pretty much total and complete chaos
While there are about 400 people currently without power (that number is expected to grow) we are still seemingly safe and sound, for now. Though the water levels are rising all around us, I think we will be okay because of where we are situated, though the possibility of a lakefront property for the next week looks imminent.
All of this and Jill and I are both knocking out work from home…BOOM!
AFTER THE STORM
So now that the storm has FINALLY passed, we were very fortunate that we did not incur any major damage. Tons of wreckage all over the town, basements flooded in almost every single neighborhood between Boulder and Denver, even animals stranded on tiny islands for survival. We have a lot more swamps, lakes and ponds than I’ve ever seen in Colorado, and while it is quite beautiful in a way, its also kind of sad to see all the destruction that water can bring.
The cool thing is lots of people are working together to help their neighbors, friends and strangers get through the turmoil. Its actually kind of inspiring that there are still so many good people in the world willing to help without any incentive. You can see some crazy images in the gallery above.