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<br />Highway 85,87 between Fountain and Security, crumpled when the fuii weight of the flood hit it Several
<br />persons, attempting to traverse the highway at Harrison Interchange, drowned when their car was submerged
<br />by roiling waters, East of Security-Widefield on the Clarence Foster Ranch, residents climbed to the top of high
<br />cottonwoods to escape waters pouring down Sand Creek '" This meek stream (Fountain) '" usually carries
<br />a minimum amount of surface water '" During the fiood stages IT reached a height of 10 to 12 feet in depth and
<br />a mile wide along this stretch of countryside,"
<br />
<br />4.2.3 PURGATOIRE RIVER
<br />
<br />Following are descriptions of known large floods that have occurred on the Purgatoire Fliver in the
<br />vicinity of Trinidad, including excerpts from locally published news accounts,
<br />
<br />Fiood of Sectem bel' 1904, During this flood, the Purgatoire River attained an estimated peak discharge
<br />of 45,400 cfs, the greatest discharge ever recorded ilt Trinidad, Regional communication, transportation, and
<br />public utility installations were severely damaged and essential services were interrupted, Within Trinidad, the
<br />floodwaters overflowed both residential and commercial areas, washed out four bridges, and swept the Sante
<br />Fe Depot entirely away, Estimated losses in the city ranged from $350,000 to $500,000,
<br />
<br />Flood of Julv 1925, According to the Trinidild Chronicle News on July 23, 1925: 'Trinidad was swept
<br />by the most threatening flood of 20 years between the hours of 6:30 and 9 o'clock last night when, after a series
<br />of cloudbursts here and up the river, the Purgatoire River '" inundated a fairly large area of the city '" Scores
<br />of peopie along the river course were forced to leave their homes, The Sante Fe Depot and Cardenas Hotel
<br />property were under water '" Pine Street and Nevilda Avenue became a lake and hundreds of people were
<br />marooned with hundreds of autos and cut off during the period of the flood, ". aggregate damage from the
<br />flood is great,,, the most severe since 1904,"
<br />
<br />Fiood of Aori11942, "Torrents Rage Thru Channei to Submerge Upper End of City Under Layer of Mud
<br />and Water," said the Trinidad Chronicle News' leading articie caption of April 23, 1942, ",,, Two of the principal
<br />bridges in Trinidad demolished, others undermined--highways and railroad lines washed out, and train and
<br />motor traffic halted in all directions; telephone and other public services damaged and seriously interrupted;
<br />uncalculated damage to important business property", Ihe city water service system sustained damage '" "
<br />After the floodwaters subsided, a damage survey indicated that direct and indirect damages amounted to
<br />$400,000, Today, the flood of April 1942 ranks as tMe second largest of record in Trinidad's unenviable flood
<br />history,
<br />
<br />Flood of Mav 1955, This flood's disastrous effects were exceptionally severe at Trinidad and nearby
<br />Starkville; early area damage estimates reached as high as $4 million, Over 141 residences, businesses, and
<br />public buildings were damaged, and seven residences were destroyed, Major damagE! occurred to
<br />transportation facilities, utilities, and river bank protection works, Most tragic, however, a youth of 18 and an
<br />adult woman losl their lives, Considerable urban damage occurred at Starkville from Raton Creek where 19
<br />residential units, four businesses, and a church were damaged, The water lines supplying the town were
<br />damaged and water had to be hauled in for about two months,
<br />
<br />Colorado Flood
<br />Hydrology Manual
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<br />4,25
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<br />DRAFT
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