High Water Mark - Flood of 1921, Pueblo, Colorado
Posted by: 
PersonsMD
N 38° 15.772 W 104° 37.037
13S E 533481 N 4235050
The high water mark found on the Pueblo Colorado Union Depot from the flash flood of 1921. Measuring in at 10 feet 6 inches and was the result of flooding of the Arkansas and Fountain rivers.
Waymark Code: WM7HJD
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 10/27/2009
Views: 14
THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1921, Pueblo Colorado
One of the most well known natural disasters in Pueblo Colorado’s history is The Great Flood of 1921. The flood warning first came at 6:30 p.m. June 3, 1921. An unknown person called and reported that the Arkansas River was flooding upstream. The flood was caused by a sudden cloudburst on the Arkansas just ten miles west of Pueblo. The flood only became worse later on when Fountain creek also began to flood from down pours 30 miles north. When the two merged in the heart of Pueblo the results were catastrophic.
Fifteen hundred people lost their lives in the flood and there was 20 million dollars in damage. The flood level was over 15 feet in some places. All of the bridges over Fountain Creek were destroyed; however, the bridges over the Arkansas remained. The telephone company had 9-½ feet of water and approximately 225,000 dollars in damage. Almost all of the downtown area was destroyed.
Bravery was widespread that horrible night. The telephone operators stayed even when the floodwaters reached 9 ½ feet. They stayed and continued sending out warnings to those people who lived further downstream. They also received and relayed countless distress calls from families whose houses were trapped in the floodwaters. The operators were eventually rescued themselves and not a single operator died that night. The operators’ bravery saved countless lives.
The relief effort was remarkable. The community banded together. Before the Red Cross arrived. The Elks Club served as a relief center where three thousand refugees were served a day, until additional help arrived. Fellow citizens also built a camp to shelter the refugees. After a few days additional helped arrived from the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Knights Columbus, and military units. Pueblo was under federal control temporarily to restore law and order.
To this day the flood of 1921 is the largest, most devastating flood in Pueblo history.
Sources Used:
(
visit link)
(
visit link)