A Wall of Water Hits Boulder
by Osman Parvez
If you happened to be in Boulder yesterday morning, you may have heard the sirens. Boulder was practicing for a flood evacuation.
While there is little statistical chance of a massive flood rampaging down Boulder Canyon into the City of Boulder, on July 31, 1976 just such a flood did occur nearby.
The Big Thompson Flood killed 145 people, destroyed 418 houses, and caused more than $40 million in damages – in about two hours. Whether or not you live or work in the flood zone, have a plan for you and your family including a safe meeting spot. Flash Flooding is the #1 possible natural disaster for Boulder.
A couple of weeks ago Justin Dombrowski spoke at my Rotary Club about the flood drill and the challenges in coordinating emergency services. He’s the Interim Director for the city/county Boulder Office of Emergency Management and works for different agencies in various capacities including FEMA, Red Cross, Boulder Rural Fire District and national incident management teams. His aim is to improve emergency management related to planning, preparedness, response and recovery.
Justin made it painfully clear that communication is the biggest challenge in coordinating emergency response. He’s trying to improve Boulder’s systems for getting the message out to thousands of residents and workers downtown when there could be 45 minutes or less warning. Possible problems include traffic jams, overloaded cell networks, and potential human indifference/ignorance of the magnitude of the threat.
The photo below is of the mouth of Big Thompson Canyon looking upstream. That’s Highway 34 at the left, truncated by the river (by W. R. Hansen, US Geological Service)
—-
Want to get blog updates via email? Click HERE.
Ready to buy or sell? Schedule an appointment or call 303.746.6896.
You can also like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.
As always, your referrals are deeply appreciated.
—
The ideas and strategies described in this blog are the opinion of the writer and subject to business, economic, and competitive uncertainties. We strongly recommend conducting rigorous due diligence and obtaining professional advice before buying or selling real estate.
Welcome to House Einstein
Locations, Due Diligence, Negotiation
Testimonials
We can highly recommend Sophie. Her attention to detail and communication skills are great. Our home was in area that most realtors are not familiar with, but Sophie took extra time to get to know the neighborhood in order to give us quality service. She also brought in a professional photographer to make our home look its best. Even though the listing was in winter, the house sold quickly. With Sophie’s business and people skills, we have no doubt she will be a top realtor in the area.
Osman was a refreshingly honest realtor. He stressed through the entire process that his goal was to make me happy with my home purchase. I greatly appreciated the fact that he never shied away from pointing out the negatives as well as the pluses of different places while leaving the final decision up to me.
Share This Listing!
More about the author
Osman Parvez
Owner & Broker at House Einstein as well as primary author of the House Einstein blog with over 1,200 published articles about Boulder real estate. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal and Daily Camera.
Osman is the primary author of the House Einstein blog with over 1,200 published articles about Boulder real estate. His work has also appeared in many other blogs about Boulder as well as mainstream newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and Daily Camera. Learn more about Osman.
Work with
House Einstein
Thinking about buying or selling and want professional advice?
Call us at 303.746.6896
Your referrals are deeply appreciated.