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<br /> <br />these roads in heavy rains with water on them before without <br />he repeated, "We just didn't get those kinds of storms here. <br />bet I won't be that foolish the next time." <br /> <br />mishap." And <br />You can just <br /> <br />The Larimer County Sheriff said, "We had trouble convincing them (the people <br />in the Canyon) that the river was even coming up. The problem is that there <br />wasn't time to convince the people, to get the urgency across to them." <br /> <br />A Larimer County Commissioner said most of the victims "have never seen a <br />mountain flash flood" and therefore, doubted its potential impact. <br /> <br />Dr. Michael Weissberg, Director of the University of Colorado Medical <br />Center's emergency psychiatry section explained it best. "Denial of <br />danger is one way of dealing with danger," he said. "It is something we <br />all do to some extent." <br /> <br />FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> <br />Finding 1: The warnings and statements issued by WSFO Denver on July 31 were <br />worded in accordance with existing procedures and standards, but evidently <br />did not convey to the users the needed sense of urgency. The State Director <br />of Disaster Emergency Services commented along these lines and said that he <br />felt that the wording of watches and warnings is "too bland and stereotyped." <br />News media representatives said much the same thing. They felt that the NWS <br />must somehow help them establish the appropriate urgency of each such message. <br /> <br />Recommendation: NWS should review its directives in regard to the wording <br />of severe thunderstorm and flash flood watches and warnings. The degree <br />of seriousness and urgency of the situation should be conveyed by the <br />warnings. <br /> <br />Finding 2: The Metropolitan Emergency Telephone System (METS) is available <br />in Denver. The media consensus was that better media dissemination of <br />warning information would result if WSFO Denver joins the METS. <br /> <br />Recommendation: ,NWS should proceed with plans to have WSFO Denver <br />participate in METS and carefully investigate the potential of similar <br />networks in other locations. <br /> <br />Finding 3: Many people actually experiencing the flood demonstrated an <br />inability to accept fully the reality of the situation and to take rational <br />actions under the extremely dangerous conditions with which they were faced. <br />Attempting to evacuate by auto on the canyon road rather than abandon their <br />property and climb to higher ground may have cost people their lives. <br />Even some law enforcement officials on the scene early had difficulty <br />recognizing the magnitude of the disaster and the need for immediate life <br />preserving measures. While there was no evidence of panic or wild flight <br />by the public, it appeared that in general the background and experiences <br /> <br />39 <br />