Heavy flooding hit Boulder, Colorado in September 2013 after over a week of rainfall, breaking rainfall records set in 1919. Boulder saw widespread power outages, school and university closures, mudslides, and isolated mountain communities as debris-filled rivers overflowed their banks. The flooding caused over $150 million in damages, thousands of evacuations, stranded communities, and at least 5 deaths.

1. FLOODWATERS:
BOULDER, CO.

2. Historic mountain flooding in
colorado after a hot, dry summer
marked by drought and wildfires
september, 15, 2013

3. RECORDS SET IN 1919
BROKEN AFTER WEEK-
LONG RAINFALL

4. BOULDER HIT ESPECIALLY
HARD

5. BOULDER

6. Boulder, with a population of
about 100,000, is located 25
miles (40 km) northwest of
Denver and sited at the base
of the foothills of the Rocky
Mountains at an elevation of
5,430 feet (1,655 m).

7. IMMEDIATE IMPACTS
• WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES
• UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO CLOSED
• SCHOOLS CLOSED
• MUDSLIDES
• INUNDATION
• ISOLATED MTN. COMMUNITIES
• FOOD AND WATER DEPLETED

8. Miles from the Rocky Mountains,
debris-filled rivers became
muddy seas that overflowed
banks and extended into towns
and inundated farms

9. DEBRIS-FILLED RIVERS

10. CUMMULATIVE IMPACTS
(To Date)
• $ 150 MILLION IN DAMAGES
• THOUSANDS EVACUATED
• COMMUNITIES ISOLATED
• NATIONAL GUARD ACTIVATED
• FEDERAL ASSISTANCE APPROVED
• 1,200 STRANDED
• AT LEAST 5 DEAD

11. FLOODWATERS:
BOULDER, CO.

12. FLOODING

13. FLOODING

14. ROADS DESTROYED

15. MUDSLIDE: BOULDER, CO.

16. AIRLIFTING

17. CONTINUING RAINFALL
EXACERBATES RESCUE
OPERATIONS