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'I " "j o o " "', , June 4-6,1949 - Steady rains amounting to 3.06 inches in three days fell in Loveland. A total rain of 1.72 inches fell in the 24-hour period of June 5-6. Most of the damage reported was to the lowlands along the Big Thompson River. Flood waters went over the road within the canyon, but only for a short time. August 3-4, 1951 - Tor:cential rains in the Cedar Cove area and the breaking of the Buckhorn reservoir combined to form the worst flood in Loveland's history. A total of 4.05 inches of rain fell on Loveland in less than 12 hours. An a-foot wall of water swept a car off U. S. Highway 34 near the plaster mill, drowning three people. High-velocity flood waters and floating debris caused widespread damage to roads, bridges, crops and personal property. All toll, the flood caused $600,000 worth of damage in Loveland and seven deaths. July 31 - AU,ustl, 1976 - The recent flood of July 31 - August 1, 19 6 was one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Colorado. Intense precipitation over an approximate 60 square mile area between Lake Estes and Drake, with rainfall depths up to 12 inches, generated the extremely high flood discharges. This flood is known to have taken 139 lives while 5 persons remain missing. Property damage was estimated at $16.5 million while hundreds of people were left homeless (Ref. 4). Over 200 residential structures were damaged or destroyed by the flood while nearly 1,200 land parcels were ' adversely affected. The amount of human suffering cannot be estimated. There are no real words to fully describe the devastation of July 31 - August 1, 1976. 00 . -~ ", " , HYDROLOGIC AND HYDRAULIC DETERMINATIONS Flood Characteristics Major floods on the Big Thompson River and tributaries are caused by intense rainfall from localized thunderstorms over the basin. The floods caused by such events will -9-