2013 — Sep 11-12, Flooding, Front Range area in and near Boulder, CO — 8
–10 Denver Post. “Colorado flood…recovery officer appointed; death toll rises,” 9-20-2013.
— 8 Denver Post. “Elderly woman urged neighbor to save herself from rising floodwaters.” 9-18-2013.
— 8 (Six missing) LA Times. “Number of missing after Colorado flood dwindles to 6.” 9-23-2013.[1]
— 8 NWS. Service Assessment. The Record Front Range and Eastern Colorado Floods… p. iv.
— 8 The Gazette, Colorado Springs. “Flooding. Biden (from p. 1.),” 9-24-2013, A9.[2]
— 8 Roberts. “Colorado Floods: Larimer Co. Reduces Missing List to Zero.” Westward, 9-24-2013.[3]
NWS: “Copious amounts of tropical moisture flowed northward from the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico into eastern Colorado on September 9–16, 2013. The combination of a slow moving upper-level system over the Great Basin region, favorable upslope easterly flow along the Front Range, and the presence of a stalled frontal system resulted in several episodes of torrential rainfall. The heaviest rain fell on the evenings of September 11–12. By week’s end, a swath of 8–17 inches of rain resulted in widespread, devastating flash flooding in the South Platte River Basin from Denver downstream to western Nebraska and in the upper Arkansas River Basin along the upper Fountain Creek. There were eight fatalities directly attributed to the flooding…. [p. iv.] Most of these fatalities occurred during the height of flash floods on the evenings of September 11 and 12. Local authorities evacuated more than 18,000 people. Approximately 19,000 homes and commercial buildings were damaged with more than 1,500 destroyed. Authorities estimate the flooding damaged or destroyed almost 485 miles of roads and 50 bridges in the impacted counties….” [p. 1.]
“Table 1: Colorado flood fatalities during the September 2013 event.
Sex Age Date Location Cause of Death
M 72 9/11 Jamestown, CO Blunt force trauma when home caved in under 12
James Canyon feet of rocks and mud.[4]
Boulder, County
F 19 9/11 Boulder, CO Drowning; abandoning stranded car in floodwaters.[5]
M 19 9/11 Boulder, CO Drowning; trying to rescue fellow car passenger.[6]
M 80 9/12 Lyons, CO Drowning in floodwaters —
St Vrain River (returning to Lyons after evacuating)[7]
Boulder County
F 60 9/12 Cedar Cove, Co. Drowning as home washed away.[8]
Big Thompson River
Larimer County
F 79 9/12 Cedar Cove, CO Drowning and blunt force trauma while trying to
Big Thompson River climb to higher ground (hit with water and debris).[9]
Larimer County
M 54 9/12 Fountain Creek Drowning in floodwaters.[10]
El Paso County
M 47 9/15 Sand Creek Drowning in floodwaters.[11]
El Paso County
(NWS. Service Assessment. The Record Front Range and Eastern Colorado Floods of September 11-17, 2013. June 2014.)
Sep 18: “Submerged up to her armpits in the raging Big Thompson River, 79-year-old Evelyn Starner spoke her last words. “Don’t worry about me … save yourself!” Evelyn Starner said to her elderly neighbor Joyce, who had been struggling to pull her out of the river early Saturday morning, according to Shawn Starner, 43, Evelyn’s son. It was the last anyone ever saw of Evelyn Starner. Evelyn Starner is one of eight people now presumed dead as a result of flooding the past week in Colorado….
“According to state officials, six people have been confirmed dead. Two others, including Evelyn Starner, are missing and presumed dead. One man, 80-year-old Jerry Boland of Lyons, is unaccounted for after driving his wife into Boulder and trying to drive back to Lyons. His truck was found empty.
“A body was found Monday on the east side of 4600 Town Center Drive in Colorado Springs. The person’s name has not been released.[12]
“Other known flood victims:
Joseph Edward Howlett, 72, of Jamestown. The former storekeeper was killed after his home was crushed in a flash flood. His body was recovered Wednesday.
Patty Goodwine, 60, of Cedar Cove is missing and presumed dead.
Wesley Quinlan and girlfriend Wiyanna Nelson, both 19, died after trying to escape a car stranded on Linden Drive in Boulder.
Danny Davis, 54, of Colorado Springs was found in Fountain Creek on Thursday near the 1100 block of South Nevada Avenue.
Carroll White, 83, of Idaho Springs, died Monday after the ground collapsed around him and he was swept away by Clear Creek. His body was recovered 3 miles downstream.”
(Denver Post. “Elderly woman urged neighbor to save herself from rising floodwaters.” 9-18-2013.)
Sep 20: “….the number of people presumed or confirmed dead reached 10, the number of destroyed homes rose to more than 2,000 and the number of applicants for federal aid topped 10,000…. Flooding along the Front Range began Sept. 11….
“Three people are missing and presumed dead in Larimer County: Patty Goodwine, 60, and Evelyn Starner, 79, who were swept away in the Cedar Cove area of Big Thompson Canyon, and an unidentified 46-year-old man whose home washed away near Drake….
“A recovery team on Thursday found the body of the fourth person killed by flooding in Boulder County. Retired Lyons teacher and coach Gerald Boland, 80, had been missing since Sept. 12, after he and his wife tried to evacuate their home. Family members said he reached an evacuation center but went back to look for his wife, who was in a separate vehicle. His wife was rescued from floodwaters by a front-end loader. Boland’s body was found a few hundred yards from his home.
“Boulder County had three previous confirmed deaths: Joseph Howlett, 72, who was killed Sept. 12 in Jamestown when his home was crushed by 12 feet of rocks and mud; and Wiyanna Nelson and Wesley Quinlan, both 19, who were swept away in the first night of flooding.
“There are two confirmed deaths in El Paso County: Danny Davis, 54, who was found Sept. 12 in Fountain Creek, and James Bettner, 47, was found in Sand Creek on Monday.
“Monday in Clear Creek County, Carroll White, 83, was swept 3 miles down Clear Creek when the bank he was standing on collapsed.” (Denver Post (Ryan Parker). “Colorado flood: Chief recovery officer appointed; death toll rises,” 9-20-2013.)
Sources
Associated Press, Colorado Springs. “Local Victim Found in Colorado Springs Identified.” CBS Denver, 9-20-2013. Accessed 6-4-2015 at: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/09/20/flood-victim-found-in-colorado-springs-identified/
Denver Post (Colleen O’Connor). “Carroll White: ‘We all miss him.’” 9-11-2014. Accessed 6-4-2015 at: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26509204/carroll-white-we-all-miss-him
Denver Post (Ryan Parker). “Colorado flood: Chief recovery officer appointed; death toll rises,” 9-20-2013. Accessed 9-23-2013 at:
Denver Post. “Elderly woman urged neighbor to save herself from rising floodwaters.” 9-18-2013. Accessed 10-2-2013 at: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24125377/elderly-woman-urged-neighbor-save-herself-from-rising
Find A Grave. “Carroll T. ‘C.T.’ White.” Record created by Gigi M. Jackson and added 9-21-2013. Accessed 6-4-2015 at: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=117416929
Los Angeles Times (Matt Pearce). “Number of missing after Colorado flood dwindles to 6.” 9-23-2013. Accessed 6-3-2015 at: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-colorado-floods-missing-20130923-story.html
National Weather Service. Service Assessment. The Record Front Range and Eastern Colorado Floods of September 11-17, 2013. Silver Spring, MD: NWS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, June 2014, 74 pages. Accessed 6-4-2015 at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/14colorado_floods.pdf
Roberts, Michael. “Colorado Floods: Larimer County Reduces Missing List to Zero.” Westward, 9-24-2013. Accessed 6-4-2015 at: http://www.westword.com/news/colorado-floods-larimer-county-reduces-missing-list-to-zero-5832067
[1] “Of the 1,200 people unaccounted for after historic floods deluged Colorado this month, only six remained missing as of Monday….On Monday [Sep 23]….Officials…announced that they had recovered the body of the disaster’s eighth confirmed victim, a 79-year-old woman, according to the Associated Press.”
[2] Writes, though, six still missing.
[3] Cites the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, which the day before had released the names of six missing people. Subsequently all six were located alive.
[4] Appears, from other sources, to refer to Joseph Edward Howlett.
[5] Appears, from other sources, to refer to Wiyanna Nelson. She and boyfriend (Quinlan) were on Linden Drive.
[6] Appears, from other sources, to refer to Wesley Quinlan.
[7] Appears, from other sources, to refer to Jerry Boland.
[8] Appears, from other sources, to refer to Patty Goodwine.
[9] Appears, from other sources, to refer to Evelyn Starner.
[10] Appears, from other sources, to refer to Danny Davis, whose body was found in Fountain Creek on Sep 12.
[11] Appears, from other sources, to refer to James Bettner, whose death was ruled an accidental drowning. (AP, Colorado Springs. “Local Victim Found in Colorado Springs Identified.” CBS Denver, 9-20-2013.)
[12] Appears, from other sources, to refer to James Bettner.