Rescuers can't reach people stranded by Colorado flooding

CNN ^ | 9/12/13 | Michael Pearson and Ana Cabrera,

[Kartographer]

An entire community cut off, firefighters huddled on the side of a mountain after water swept their truck away, and -- with rescue helicopters grounded -- no way to reach them.

This is the scene facing authorities Thursday in Boulder County, Colorado, in the wake of what Sheriff Joe Pelle called a "devastating storm" that dumped more than half a foot of rain on the region during a 19-hour period.

The widespread flash flooding washed out roads, pushed dams to their limits and beyond and killed at least three people along Colorado's Rocky Mountain range, from Boulder south to Colorado Springs.

[Kartographer]

"Lyons, a small town of 2,000 near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, was cut off by what city officials described as a 500-year flood. They took to Facebook to urge residents to prepare for up to three days on their own."

Three days? Where is FEMA??? Where is the National Guard?? Where is Obama the anointed one??? Can't he stop the rain and the floods??

[null and void]

Red county in a purple state?

[2banana]

It still is all Bush’s fault

[Pearls Before Swine]

It sucks, but three days is OK if you have water. There’s plenty of water....

[wastedyears]

Okay... send in the 160th SOAR and Coast Guard.

[colorado tanker]

I've never seen anything like it here. It's not thunderstorms, just steady, driving rain.

I'm sure the cool and rainy weather somehow proves global warming, though.

[dragnet2]

Everything considered, the people there are probably hoping they remain isolated.

[caver]

More than half a foot of rain is a 500 year flood?

[null and void]

What good is it having a Great Basin if you never fill it?

[b4its2late]

I'm sure the cool and rainy weather somehow proves global warming, though.

They are creating the stats to prove it as we type.......

[grania]

Are you in the affected area? My best wishes are with you to stay safe.

[SpinnerWebb]

I saw 33 inches in 24 hours in 2001. 6 inches in 19 hours doesn’t sound so bad.

I guess it depends on the drainage.

[kingu]

You’ve got, um, some water around you, and maybe you should conserve your food, but certainly make sure you’re spending your time on facebook, as that’s our chosen method of communication with people cut off from all civilization...

Yep, you can’t make this stuff up anymore. Real life is just that far beyond the horizon now.

[Cyman]

I was just stranded a few miles out of Needles on my way to Vegas by flash floods in front and immediately behind me. Luckily I had rented a 4 wheel drive Suburban and as the water ebbed slightly I was able to make it through the wall of water and a surprising wall of mud. It scared my girlfriend so badly she refused to drive home and took a plane back to San Diego.

[colorado tanker]

:-))

[colorado tanker]

No, I’m in the city and on higher ground, fortunately. Thanks for the thoughts.

[MrB]

The electorate, in 2012, delivered God a great big middle finger.
These things are bound to be the result.

[colorado tanker]

We’re just not used to handling this much rain. Plus, the burn scars of the wildfires of recent years can’t absorb anything.

[Kartographer]

There many be an opportunity here, maybe I should look into buying up potential beach front property in Colorado? ;-)

[colorado tanker]

I was convinced the American people would not re-elect this putz, just like they fired Jimmuh. Now we have three more years of this. I suppose the Republic has survived worse.