Boulder Flood

Hey y'all. Just checking in to let you know that Boulder is still here! But folks, this event is going down in the history books! It’s difficult to put into words the heartbreakingly enormous losses the community has suffered. Water has made some streets of Boulder impassable and destroyed multiple homes. Water runs where hikers once walked, and massive debris fields now block major trails. Water wreaked havoc on Boulder’s popular Bike paths. Water has made Boulder into a soggy mess. Much — no one is sure how much — has been lost to this water. Apparently, this is the 100-year flood. Some are calling it 1,000 year flooding. With 30.14 inches of rain and counting, more than half of which fell since Sept. 9, the city has already eclipsed its previous mark of 29.93 inches, set in 1995.

The flooding has caused 15 Colorado counties to declare a state of emergency, including Boulder, which President Obama has opened up to federal assistance.

Colorado Office of Emergency Management announced that nearly 19,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged as the results of extensive flooding that covered thousands of square miles.Emergency managers are already estimating $100-$150 million in damages in Boulder County; according to reports, 35 bridges, 100 minor structures and 100 miles of road are expected to require repairs.Here are a few photos taken in the area:

I wish I had more. Normally, I would be all over something like this, but I have spent the last several days moving things out and trying to remove as much wet stuff from the SSArchitects Conference Room as humanly possible to hold off the growth of mold and other nasty stuff. (I find myself wondering just how much waterlogged carpeting is going to have be disposed of in the coming weeks.)