Picture taken looking west toward the mountains from whence the water comes.
At the rate it is flowing it might be more than a week before the level changes. Look closely toward the bottom of the picture. That's the top of a fence and this is farm land, not the actual river.
Looking east, this is the actual Cache la Poudre River. It is normally small, barely noticeable and also extremely clear. Just above the rail see the dark boards. That's a fence. After all these days the river is still huge. The volume of water has been astonishing.
The numbers vary greatly depending on which report you read or hear, so the actual numbers are unknown. This morning I stated that I was sure that 12,000 homes had been damaged statewide and 1200 completely destroyed. I just heard the number has risen to 19,000 homes damaged. I suspect a very large percentage of those people are about to be shocked to find out their homeowners insurance is not going to cover their losses. Flooding is covered under a separate federal policy. There have been two small mountain towns wiped off the face of the earth. The number of missing people changes by the hour. Lots of people who were reported missing simply could not be reached. No cell service, no land phones, no electricity so they could not be contacted but were still in their homes. They are being rescued now. There's no water or sewer in many cities. In Evans not far from us, people cannot even take showers. No water can go down the drain because the sewage system is under water and has failed. That means all the water we see flowing everywhere is contaminated. Kids are playing in it. Dangerous to say the least. This is a flood of a magnitude no one anticipated ever. Jerry and I are stunned to realize we have witnessed two separate 100 year floods in our married life. The last one almost kept us from getting married. This one keeps us from leaving Colorado. What an unforgettable experience. Lots of people need lots of prayers and lots of help.
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