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The Week B'!'qinnin9. June 14th In many parts of Colorado, the week begi.nning Monday, June 14, 1965, represented the first full week of summer vacation for school students. Before this week was over, however, Eastel:'n Colorado experi.. enced the worst natural disasteJ~ in the history of the state. Twenty- one men, women, and children dil~d. A total of 605 persons suffered injuries or illnesses attributed to the floods, with 58 of these being serious enough to require hospitalization. MOrE! than 5,000 homes, . tra ilers, and farm buildin9s we:!:e destroyed or damaged, and some 6,700 small businesses were destroyed or severely damaged. In cold figures which hardly reflect human suff'~ring and loss, total damages were estimated at 543 million dollaI'~. The week beginning June' 14th had been preceded by a series of showers and thunderstorms resulting from a build up of masses of warm gulf moisture and cool Pacilfic Northwest fronts meet1.ng and settling along the east front of the Contiental Divi.de. On June 13th, a long- time resident of Loveland, who ilvas talking to all Illinois couple thinking of moving to this Colo:rado town, assur4~d the visitors that there had never been a tornado in that area -- too close to the mountains. About 4:30 p.m.. thE! next day" a thr'~e-pronged tornado hit the western edge of Loveland, t:raveling about one and one-half miles northeast through a traile:r park, a major highway, and a business and residential section causing injury to about 19 people and damages in excess of a half million dollars. But this was merely a minor prelude to Nature's rampage. The South Platte River Basill Du:dng the late ev,eninq of June 14th and up to 5:00 p.m. the afternoon of June 15th, thundeTstorms occurred in a band ac:ross the northern part of the state from Fort Collins to Julesburg. Reported intensities varied from three inches in 15 minutes to .95 of an inch in 30 minutes, with total rainfall ranging from 1.40 inch to six inches. About 3:00 p.m. on the 16th" a tornado accompanied by hail c.,It.' rain hit the Palmer Lake Divide moving north and east across West and East Plum Creeks, past Larkspur and Castle Rock, then across the western and lower part of Cherry Creek with a tornado touching down and damaging the Valley Country ClUb south of the Cherry Creek I'.eservoir, and the storm then moved eastward across Tollgate, Sand, and Comanche Creeks. In the Denver area, car radios were being turned on by people as they began their way home f:~om work. At IE~clst one radio station began broadcasting the report that a wall of water was racing down the South Platte River and that, if true, it could result in major dam~ge in areas near the river. At the State Engineer's Office, attempts were being made to locate the source of this so-called wall of ~~ter, but all was reported normal at the headwaters of the South Platte. By 5:30 p.m., however, familJ.es and businesses resident near the South Platte River had only a few hours to prepare for the rapidly-approach- ing spectre representing death and destruction..