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LESSONS of RECOVERY' A REViEW of ThE 1997 COLORAdo Flood DisASTER Weldona Intense rainfall in the vicinity of Weldona produced flood flows in Schaefer Draw and adjacent tributaries that caused two irrigation ditches to breach, resulting in combined flows that inundated 80 percent of the community to depths of four to five feet. In and around Weldona, the flooding caused approximately $1.1 million in damages to 38 single family homes, six businesses, Weldon Valley High School, the local Catholic Church and annex, a postal facility, roads, bridges, embankments and crops. Logan County According to both long-time residents and available flood discharge estimates, the 1997 Pawnee Creek flood was comparable to, if not greater than, the previous significant flood event which occurred in 1965. In the narrower, upper reaches of the basin, floodwaters that were basically confined to the channel damaged roads and bridges and eroded stream banks. State Highway 14 between Sterling and Fort Collins was closed for a week for flood repairs and another bridge just across the border in Weld County - on State Highway 71 between Stoneham and Kimball, Nebraska -- was totally destroyed, closing the highway for two weeks while a detour was built. In addition to the access problems and other economic impacts caused by the temporary loss of the two state highway bridges, the flood added over 100 road and bridge projects to the Logan County maintenance and construction schedule, including major repairs to the bridge on County Road 7 and the replacement of four large culverts on County Road 11.2. Many of the damaged roads represented vital farm-to-market links that had to be repaired prior to the summer's wheat harvest in order to avert financial losses for area farmers. Downstream, overbank flooding completely inundated bridges, miles of roads and approximately 13,700 acres of agricultural lands. Countywide, including the community of Atwood and the City of Sterling, approximately 1,400 residences and more than 200 businesses were affected by the flood. One estimate indicates that the flood caused nearly $20 million in damages countywide, including $9.7 million residential, $6.8 million agricultural. $1.4 million commercial, $1 million road and bridge, and $100,000 in damages to the railroad between Atwood and Sterling (ICON Engineering, Inc., 1998). Atwood At the lower end of the basin near the community of Atwood, wide floodplain areas exist and excess runoff is partially contained by the embankments of US 6 and the railroad, flooding farm and pasture lands in the vicinity. The manmade embankments, referred to as the Pawnee Overflow, typically divert flows to the northeast into the City of Sterling, where homes and businesses in some parts of the city are subject to repetitive minor flooding (RTi, 1998). At approximately 3:00 p.m. on July 30,1997, Pawnee Creek overflowed its banks and backed up behind the highway and railroad embankments, inundating most of the homes and other buildings in Atwood to depths of up to four feet. According to building inspectors who placed red (unsafe) and yellow (major repairs needed) tags on damaged homes in Atwood, 13 homes were destroyed, 27 suffered major damage, and 15 more had minor to moderate damage. Eight of the homes had to be demolished because they were structurally unsafe or because repair costs were prohibitive. Pawnee floodwaters left the entire town covered in mud and debris, including large, round hay bales, railroad ties and utility poles. Individual well systems were damaged or destroyed throughout town. COLORAdo OffiCE of EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 5