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<br /> <br />City of Colorado Springs Flood Hazard M/tigaHon Plan <br /> <br /> <br />AU1fU8t 9, 1988. Sierra Madre Street Flooding. <br />Gazette <br /> <br />it was cancelled due to lack of information to <br />verify the report. <br /> <br />The volume of water caused flooding in base- <br />ments, damage to yards, roads, and roofs. The <br />swift short-lived storm had a significant im- <br />pact on the area. <br /> <br />Meteorology <br /> <br />The June 17, 1993 storm developed quickly. <br />At 4:00 p.m. a lightning strike hospitalized <br />Anthony Grantz who was golfing on the six- <br />teenth hole at Patty Jewett Golf Course. No <br />lightning preceded this strike. Moderate <br />showers developed over Colorado Springs and <br />became more severe as people ended their <br />work day. The storm cell stalled over the city, <br />dumping heavy rain from the far north <br />reaches of Briargate and south to the down- <br />town area. The three and a half hour storm <br />was created by an upper level disturbance <br />that mushroomed due to warm afternoon <br />ground temperatures in the vicinity. Moist air <br />from the edge of Hurricane Adrianna in the <br />Gulf Coast of Mexico also increased the size of <br />the storm. <br /> <br />J, <br /> <br />Response <br /> <br />Response was immediate but hectic during <br />the June 17 event. The new Colorado Springs <br />Police Operations Center (POC) served well <br />as the Emergency Operations Center; both <br />the police and fire dispatches are located in <br />this building. The City Emergency Manager, <br />Donna Fair, coordinated efforts for notifica- <br />tion, evacuation, and sheltering from this fa- <br />cility which served as the EOC. <br /> <br />The flood warning system sensor alarms lo- <br />cated in Cottonwood Creek and Shooks Run <br />drainage basin, initiated the issuing of a Flash <br />Flood Warning by the National Weather Serv- <br />ice. The warning went through the Emer- <br />gency Broadcast System process to local 5:00 <br />PM news on radio and television. Police and <br />fire personnel were busy throughout the eve- <br />ning with stalled cars, accidents, lightning <br />strikes, flooded basements, and automatic <br />alarms ringing. There were water rescues on <br />city streets due to urban flooding. <br /> <br />The fire department responded to over 90 calls <br />during the flood, double what they receive on <br />a normal day. At one point, all fire department <br />vehicles were in service. <br /> <br />Official response followed in the days after the <br />deluge on June 17th'. A meeting of public <br />officials was held for discussion and input <br />exchange pertaining to the incident. A dam- <br />age assessment team from the State Office of <br />Emergency Management helped with esti- <br />mates during the subsequent weeks. <br /> <br />The City Office of Emergency Management <br />chose to use the flood as a learning tool for the <br />comIllunity. After the storm, the dissemi~a- <br />tion of information included newspaper arti- <br />cles, TV interviews, and a mailing of <br />brochures regardtng flood awareness in- <br />cl uded an emergency preparedness for severe <br />weather, national flood insurance program, <br /> <br />10 <br />