1997 Spring Creek flood explained

Duration:July 27 - 28, 1997
Cause:Heavy rains
Type:Flood
Maximum-Rain:14.5inches, western Fort Collins, Colorado, US
Basin:atl
Total Damages:$200 million
Injuries:62
Fatalities:5
Damage:>$250 million
Houses-Destroyed:200
Areas:Spring Creek, Fort Collins, Colorado

In a two-day period on July 27 - 28, 1997, heavy rainfall caused an overflow of the Spring Creek near Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. Stalled convection over the city produced heavy rainfall of up to 14.5inches across western portions of Fort Collins, causing a flash flood which damaged areas along Spring Creek. Numerous buildings at Colorado State University were inundated by floodwaters, sustaining over US$100 million in damage. Five people were killed, 62 were injured, and damage totaled in excess of $250 million, including more than 2,000 businesses and homes being damaged or destroyed. The flood is the worst natural disaster to impact the Fort Collins, Colorado, area.

Background

Spring Creek is a 12.7-longNaN-long[1] tributary of the Cache La Poudre River in the state of Colorado in the United States. It begins at Spring Canyon Dam, and flows into Horsetooth Reservoir, and through Fort Collins.[2] Before the floods, moist atmospheric conditions occurred due to an unusually strong flow of monsoon moisture, despite the area experiencing drought conditions for six weeks.[3] [4] A $5-million mitigation plan was also implemented before the flood.[5] The average precipitation annually in the Fort Collins area near a Spring Creek drainage was 14inches before the disaster.[6]

Meteorological synopsis

On July 27, a cold front moving southward entered portions of northern Colorado as cooler air was pushed toward the state from a high-pressure area centered over southern Canada.[7] [8] Moisture also pushed into Colorado from the south, above the approaching cold front, as easterly winds pushed into eastern portions of the state moist, extremely humid surface air that was previously located over Kansas. The humid surface air then moved and saturated into the Front Range, resulting in the development of slow-moving thunderstorms into the next day. While this occurred, convection developed over Fort Collins, producing heavy rainfall of up to 14.5inches across western portions of the city,[9] including 10inches of rain falling within five hours. The heavy rainfall overwhelmed drains and caused debris to block a railroad passage, resulting in a flash flood across Fort Collins. After the floods, moist air remained for several days over the state, eventually resulting in more convection developing that missed impacting already-impacted areas in Fort Collins and Larimer County, Colorado, instead inundating farmlands and portions of Sterling and Atwood, Colorado. A Colorado State University climatologist, Nolan Doesken, compared the meteorological conditions in Spring Creek to the 1976 Big Thompson River flood.

Impact

Most of the rain fell across western portions of Fort Collins, near Spring Creek.[10] At Colorado State University, 40 buildings were inundated by floodwaters, including the law enforcement department and television station at the university, causing over $100 million in damage.[11] [12] [13] In a basement in one of the buildings, damages to textbooks totaled up to $1 million, along with an additional 425,000 books kept at a nearby library damaged. A 15feet railroad embankment overflowed after being hit with approximately 8250cuft of water per second, which caused a train to derail.[14] The floods killed five people, injured 62 people, and caused property damage in excess of $250 million,[15] including more than 2,000 businesses and homes being damaged or destroyed.[16] Four of the five fatalities occurred at a mobile home park, where floodwaters increased over 5feet in three minutes, destroying the mobile home park and another trailer park. Several of the injured were transported to Poudre Valley Hospital for medical treatment, including hypothermia from the floodwaters and lacerations sustained from broken windows.[17] The rainfall in Fort Collins on July 28 was the heaviest in an urban area in the state, and also set three, six, and twenty-four hour-rainfall records.[18] [19] Additionally, across the Fort Collins area, the flood was the worst natural disaster ever there.

Aftermath

After the flood, 400 people were rescued.[20] A documentary film was made detailing the flood and the reconstruction after the disaster.[21] [22] A high water marker was erected at Colorado State University designating the water level during the flood at Spring Creek, and flood-height poles were also built. Following the flood, flood management projects and further mitigation measures were enacted, which cost $50 million. A system used for flood warnings was also initiated, which was supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. New structures were also built in Fort Collins as improvements, which included channels and retaining walls being situated. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network was also created as a result of the floods, first beginning in Larimer County in 1998.[23] Events were also set up to commemorate 20 years after the disaster in 2017.[24]

Notes and References

  1. 177376. Spring Creek. February 22, 2024.
  2. Web site: Spring Creek . January 23, 2024 . City of Fort Collins . en-US . January 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240123003548/https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/what-we-do/stormwater/drainage-basins/spring-creek-basin . live .
  3. Ogden . F. L. . Sharif . H. O. . Senarath . S. U. S. . Smith . J. A. . Baeck . M. L. . Richardson . J. R. . February 21, 2000 . Hydrologic analysis of the Fort Collins, Colorado, flash flood of 1997 . live . . 228 . 1 . 82–100 . 10.1016/S0022-1694(00)00146-3 . 2000JHyd..228...82O . 0022-1694 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120517121907/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169400001463 . May 17, 2012 . January 24, 2024 . ScienceDirect.
  4. Web site: Candelario . Haley . July 27, 2017 . Fort Collins looks back 20 years after Spring Creek flood . January 24, 2024 . . May 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230519105118/https://collegian.com/articles/news/2017/07/fort-collins-looks-back-20-years-after-spring-creek-flood/ . live .
  5. Web site: February 11, 2021 . On Top of the Game in Floodplain Management . January 24, 2024 . . en . October 18, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231018204925/https://www.fema.gov/case-study/top-game-floodplain-management . live .
  6. Book: Wohl, Ellen . Of Rock and Rivers: Seeking a Sense of Place in the American West . June 8, 2009 . . 9780520257030 . 213 . EN . Google Books.
  7. Web site: Manning . Anne . July 26, 2017 . A perfect storm, and a 500-year flood . January 24, 2024 . . June 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230606064958/https://source.colostate.edu/perfect-storm-500-year-flood/ . live .
  8. McKee . Thomas . Doesken . Nolan J. . January 1, 2015 . Analysis of rainfall for the July 28, 1997 flood in Fort Collins, Colorado, An . Department of Atmospheric Science Colorado State University . January 24, 2024 . January 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240124034415/https://www.academia.edu/106286350/Analysis_of_rainfall_for_the_July_28_1997_flood_in_Fort_Collins_Colorado_An . live .
  9. Web site: 1997 Spring Creek Flood . January 17, 2024 . Fort Collins History Connection . January 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240117181225/https://history.fcgov.com/explore/flood . live .
  10. Web site: Young . Rich . July 28, 2022 . Spring Creek Flood 25 years ago led to a national precipitation network, infrastructure upgrades . January 17, 2024 . . June 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603210034/https://engr.source.colostate.edu/spring-creek-flood-25-years-ago-led-to-a-national-precipitation-network-infrastructure-upgrades/ . live .
  11. Web site: Duggan . Kevin . July 20, 2017 . Duggan: The flood that shocked and traumatized Fort Collins . January 17, 2024 . . en-US.
  12. Web site: July 27, 2017 . 20 Years Later, Fort Collins Better Prepared For Flash Floods . January 17, 2024 . . en . January 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240117031730/https://www.kunc.org/environment/2017-07-27/20-years-later-fort-collins-better-prepared-for-flash-floods . live .
  13. News: Brooke . James . July 31, 1997 . Colorado State University Is Still Reeling From a Flash Flood . January 17, 2024 . . en-US . 0362-4331 . January 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240117181224/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/31/us/colorado-state-university-is-still-reeling-from-a-flash-flood.html . live .
  14. Web site: July 29, 2007 . Victims remembered on 10th anniversary of Fort Collins Flood . January 23, 2024 . . en-US . January 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240123000356/https://www.vaildaily.com/news/victims-remembered-on-10th-anniversary-of-fort-collins-flood/ . live .
  15. Weaver . John F. . Gruntfest . Eve . Levy . Glenn M. . October 1, 2000 . Two Floods in Fort Collins, Colorado: Learning from a Natural Disaster . . en . 81 . 10 . 2359–2366 . 10.1175/1520-0477(2000)081<2359:TFIFCC>2.3.CO;2 . 0003-0007 . free . 2000BAMS...81.2359W .
  16. Web site: July 30, 2017 . 20th Anniversary Of Deadly Flooding In Fort Collins . January 17, 2024 . . en-US . January 17, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240117222729/https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/20th-anniversary-deadly-flooding/ . live .
  17. Web site: July 29, 1997 . 5 die as record rains flood Fort Collins . January 22, 2024 . . en . January 22, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240122235601/https://www.deseret.com/1997/7/29/19326151/5-die-as-record-rains-flood-fort-collins . live .
  18. Web site: Langevin . Danielle . Sullivan . Tessa . Spring Creek Flood of 1997 . January 22, 2024 . . May 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230519111622/https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/spring-creek-flood-1997 . live .
  19. Petersen . Walter A. . Carey . Lawrence D. . Rutledge . Steven A. . Knievel . Jason C. . Doesken . Nolan J. . Johnson . Richard H. . McKee . Thomas B. . Haar . Thomas Vonder . Weaver . John F. . February 1, 1999 . Mesoscale and Radar Observations of the Fort Collins Flash Flood of 28 July 1997 . . en . 80 . 2 . 191–216 . 10.1175/1520-0477(1999)080<0191:MAROOT>2.0.CO;2 . 1999BAMS...80..191P . 0003-0007.
  20. Web site: Follow the Flood Event . January 24, 2024 . City of Fort Collins . en-US.
  21. Web site: Dodge . Jeff . March 28, 2020 . Reel CSU Stories: The campus flood of 1997 . January 22, 2024 . . June 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603023127/https://source.colostate.edu/reel-csu-stories-the-campus-flood-of-1997/ . live .
  22. Web site: Manning . Anne . July 26, 2017 . Record rain, record flood: A timeline of the July 1997 flood . January 22, 2024 . . February 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230205170252/https://source.colostate.edu/record-rain-record-flood-timeline-july-1997-fort-collins-flood/ . live .
  23. Web site: Duggan . Kevin . July 20, 2017 . Spring Creek Flood launched international weather-watching network . January 24, 2024 . . en-US.
  24. Web site: Vaughan . Kevin . July 27, 2017 . 9NEWS reporter remembers devastating Fort Collins flood . January 25, 2024 . . en-US.

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