`NO TIME FOR WARNING'; COLORADO FLOODING CLAIMS LIVES.Byline: Steven K. Paulson Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A sudden rainstorm sent a muddy wall of water up to 20 feet high crashing through neighborhoods in the middle of the night, washing away cars, trailers and anything else in its path. At least five people were dead, 40 injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. and 20 others missing. ``There was no time for warning,'' said police Lt. Brad Hurst. More than 8 inches of rain fell in the Fort Collins area Monday night and collected behind a 15-foot-high railroad bed Noun 1. railroad bed - a bed on which railroad track is laid bed - a foundation of earth or rock supporting a road or railroad track; "the track bed had washed away" rail line, railway line, line - the road consisting of railroad track and roadbed until the water finally broke loose in a huge wave. The flood turned the normally quiet Spring Creek A spring creek is a stream that flows from a spring. Spring Creek may refer to any of the following specific places:
``It came and came and came, and I thought, `Oh man, I've got to get out with what I have with me and help my neighbors,' '' said Suzetta Thompson, who was at home with her husband, Rob. Their trailer was destroyed. ``I grabbed my bathrobe, and now that's all I have.'' Two trailer parks were especially hard hit, but the flooding caused hardship all over this city of 108,000 an hour north of Denver. Side streets were swamped with dirty, brownish water, forcing some shops to close. City Manager John Fishbach estimated damage in the millions. Gov. Roy Romer Roy R. Romer (born October 31, 1928 in Garden City, Kansas, United States) was the 39th governor of Colorado and served as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2001 to 2006. , who had once lived in the neighborhood, flew over the flood area in a National Guard helicopter. ``I know that creek well,'' Romer
A Romer or Roamer is a simple device for accurately plotting a grid reference on a map. said. ``It just catches your breath when you see that amount of damage.'' As a steady drizzle fell, rescuers searched for the missing. They went through 90 trailers one by one, prying pry·ing adj. Insistently or impertinently curious or inquisitive: ignored the prying journalists' questions. pry them open and spray-painting on them what was found. Many said ``Clear.'' But one was marked: ``Live Cat.'' A stench filled the air as the rescuers - including divers - worked. Fires burned at daybreak from broken gas mains. The Colorado State University Colorado State University, at Fort Collins; land-grant with state and federal support; chartered 1870, opened 1879 as an agricultural college, assumed present name in 1957. There is a veterinary teaching hospital, an agricultural campus, and a research campus. campus was heavily damaged. More than 4 feet of water poured through the student center, and water was still rushing from the building hours later. Textbooks, pins from the bowling alley and bicycles were scattered in the muck outside. In a music building, floodwaters ruined band uniforms, sheet music, pianos and other instruments in a basement. Damage on campus was estimated at $20 million. The university suspended classes, and 3,500 teen-agers attending an international conference spent the night in the athletic arena after power was cut to the dormitories. In the aftermath of the heavy rains, as streets flooded, police from several communities lined streets to prevent loitering Loitering (IPA pronunciation: ['lɔɪtəˌrɪŋ] is an intransitive verb meaning to stand idly, to stop numerous times, or to delay and procrastinate. and looting. By midday Tuesday, power was restored to most residents. Phone problems also dogged the city through the day, with some main lines submerged. More rain was expected, and a flood watch was in effect. ``It looks moist for quite a while,'' said forecaster Bob Koopmeiners with the National Weather Service. Spring Creek, which is lined with trees and a bike path, winds through several neighborhoods on its way from the Rocky Mountain foothills to the Poudre River. It is usually about 5 feet wide, and no one could recall previous flooding there. The ground had been saturated after a day and a half of rain. Runoff Runoff The procedure of printing the end-of-day prices for every stock on an exchange onto ticker tape. Notes: If the "tape is late" then it can take a long time to print off all the closing prices. built up behind the railroad bed, which acted as a dam. The water then burst over the top and tore through the tracks, unleashing a huge wave of water into the trailer parks downstream. Debris then clogged a bridge farther downstream and the water backed up into the already flooded neighborhoods. Five people died in the flood, said police spokeswoman Rita Davis. Three women were found trapped between a trailer park and a bridge about 100 yards away. A fourth was found two miles downstream. A fifth body was later found buried in debris near the trailer park. Davis said up to 20 people were missing. Forty people were treated at Poudre Valley Hospital Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH), located in Fort Collins, Colorado, serves northern Colorado, southern Wyoming, and western Nebraska. The hospital has 241 beds, and is a level III trauma center. ; four people in their 60s and 70s were listed in fair or good condition, while a 6-month-old girl was in fair condition with pneumonia. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, map PHOTO (1 -- color) Debris collects around a bridge in Fort Collins, Colo., after Monday night's flash flood. (2) Divers leave Spring Creek after searching for victims swept away by the muddy waters. Associated Press MAP: Fort Collins area of current flooding |
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