Yep, no more railfanning in/around Longmont for a while! Due to the extreme damage done by severe flooding the last 2-3 days! No idea how bad track is from here, south to Denver, or north of here, to Cheyenne, WY. Just a small sample of what happened in Longmont: Switch for Lyons Branch, slightly washed out. A section of the track, under the traffic overpass, also washed out Already saw BNSF out checking this area, as well as someone from Hulcher Services. Facebook albums, with many more photos of the carnage around the south side of Longmont: https://www.facebook.com/keith.hahn...59131265758.1073741831.100000750309619&type=3 More, from a couple days ago, when water was much deeper: https://www.facebook.com/keith.hahn...45461337125.1073741830.100000750309619&type=3 Never seen things THIS bad in Longmont!!!
We've been hearing it's quite a mess. I wonder what would have happened, had this been cold of January...? Tried the links, but am not on FB so cannot seem to find anything I can view.
Yea, it's been a mess here for days now and it's not over yet ( but getting better, we hope). Lots and lots of damage and sadly also loss of life. Many roads have been lost so getting around will be tough for a long while... I know I have be sharing various photos and updates on my Facebook page but here is a link to 9News where you can see some of the photos (http://www.9news.com/news/photo-gallery.aspx?storyid=354821) Colorado National Guard hard at work!
It has been an interesting week. The potential still exists for things to get better or worse, as the last report I'd heard was still saying something like 80 folks missing. Heard them saying something similar to what Ken asked on the radio, what this would have been if it were snow. Boggles the mind to think. Hats off to all those involved in the response and best wishes to all affected...
That's very sad, and I can empathize, having helped the MS Gulf Coast clean up from too many hurricanes over 55 years. Sooner or later, enough members of Congress will pull their collective heads out and recognize that Federal Catastrophic Insurance is not ONLY a benefit for "Those Dumb Rednecks Who Have Stupidly Chosen To Live On The Gulf Of Mexico". Hopefully they will recognize that flooding in Colorado, tornados in Joplin, ice storms in New England, "Super Storms" in Jersey and Long Island, etc., are ALL National Impact Catastrophic Natural Disasters. For too many years the "Good Old Boys (and Girls)" in Congress laughed at Representative Gene Taylor (D-MS) and Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), both of whom lost everything they owned to Katrina, that National Flood Insurance was all that was needed, because other than for hurricanes, there is no such thing as National Impact Natural Catastrophes, they all are merely "Local Events" covered by personal insurance policies....RIGHT !. Sorry for my rant, but I've watched the flooding news from Colorado and am wondering just how many Tens of Thousands of Darren's neighbors have been affected by this "Local Event".
The typical translation is 1" of Rain is 10" of Snow so in some areas we would have been looking at 10-15 FEET of white stuff at this point... It's RAINING again right now too...:headspin:
That amount of short time frame snow is always scary dangerous. I can still remember on the farm as a youth, one day we were eating lunch in the house, when our barn collapsed. Another half an hour, and we were to be working in that barn!
Just to add to your thoughts, they say at this point we are now looking at Katrina Hurricane numbers for the number of folks so far that have now been rescued via Helicopter. Currently in Boulder County, there are 172 people listed as missing. Tonight down stream, Greeley, Evans, and other cites are now being flooded as the rivers continue to make new channels...
Sooner or later our government has to admit that a NATIONAL Catastrophic Insurance Program is a necessity.
EeeeeeeK!!!! Not if they handle it the way the flood program is now going. It is starting to de-house people. Premiums under newly passed legislation are set to skyrocket. People who are presently paying hundreds of dollars a year, will soon be paying thousands of dollars, and even tens of thousands of dollars per year.
After seeing those photos, that was my first thought, "Where's the water gonna go now?" I have firends in Denver and Colo Springs and i see updates on their pages too.
However, when coverage is expanded to "National", then the number of premium payers greatly expands, and everyone's premiums go down proportionally. The problem today is that coverage still is only "Flood", thus the few premium payers are only in areas within a few feet to a few miles of waters that have historically risen in recent history, not Nation-Wide. The political problem today is that folks in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Big Sky Country see no reason to buy "Flood" insurance. However, if the program were to be renamed "National Catastrophe" insurance, I think even you, Ken, would opt in.
Well, it is actually national in scope. Required of any mortgage holder in a designated flood plain. And of some who have no mortgage. And they (Feds) have just, again, expanded that, with plans to expand even further. With expansion, you'd want to believe premiums might ease, but to the contrary they keep going up instead. Be careful, as even you may soon be reclassified. We personally know people who live on hilltops, hundreds of feet (and more) above an actual flood area, but as that location falls within the outlined "flood" area, still must pay. PM me if you wish. I cannot get into some details, publicly.
My Facebook is: https://www.facebook.com/darren.e.hadley Locally we see Evacuations after Evacuation notices for those down steam and sadly it is pouring rain all over the state once again tonight. One of our rivers broke it's historical flood record of 11+ feet and set it to 18+ feet above normal. Here is an example of a notice that was released earlier... KUSA - The towns of Goodrich, Orchard and Weldona are under an immediate evacuation order Saturday morning. Do not drive through any road that is covered in water. Road damage may be hidden under the water. People are advised to head to higher ground. Highway 144 South of the town of Orchard is closed. Highway 39 is the best exit out of Orchard or head east on Highway 144. Wiggins is setting up a temporary evacuation center at the Wiggins Event Center for evacuees from the Highway 34 area west of Kersey. CDOT has closed Highway 34 from Greeley through Wiggins. There is water crossing the highway and a washout at WCR 45.
To keep this somewhat RR related, I believe all the Mainlines are still operational but several industrial areas have lost their roadbeds...
JB, a National Catastrophe Insurance Program would not be coverage for just flooding. It would include all major naturally occurring disasters, such as tornados, ice storms, and in your area naturally occurring wild fires. The possible ground rule for defining a catastrophe as National vice Local would be the extent and cost of damage.
Guess I'm lucky, as my folks and I are on the north side of Longmont, o much higher ground. From 3rd Ave south, is all down hill and low ground. It's these places that are/were under several feet of water. Search YouTube, for Longmont Flooding, and you should find several aerial videos of Longmont, and west towards Lyons. It shows how bad the devastation really is!! I've seen it, and it still blows my mind with how severe and widespread the flood waters and damage are!! Last I heard, Longmont has had 8"-10" of rain! 10 miles west, in Boulder, they've had up to 15" of rain. I hope this isn't a sign of what winter's gonna be like!! Be safe, stay safe!! I'd go check some of the devastation elsewhere, but with roads being partly open, or one direction in, or out of town, there's the chance I could be stuck inn traffic for HOURS, trying to get in, or out of town. For example, a trip that should have taken Mom and I 20 minutes, took 2 hours instead! Modified Red Green statement: Remember, I'm Prayin' for ya, we're all in this together.
