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<br />. ' <br /> <br />38 THE ARKANSAS RIVER I'~~Z.OD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921. <br /> <br />Grande is having lots of trouble caused by the cloud-burst of Friday <br />night. The Hardscrabble bridge washed out." That this flood was <br />of considerable magnitude at Pueblo is in:rerred from the statement <br />that the city council on August 12 appropriated $3,000 to repair and <br />strengthen the levee. All obstl11ctions in the ella-nnel were ordered <br />removed. Pueblo reported 1.02 inches of rain in one hour August 9. <br />This intense rainfall, with a temperature of 980 before the storm, <br />indicated a cloud-burst, which was local to the valley between Pueblo <br />and Canon City. <br />No unusual Hoods are recorded after 1889 until 1893. Although <br />this was the second driest yea,r in 35 years, as shown by records of, <br />'precipitation at Pueblo, the flood on July 2'6,1893, seems to have been <br />'the fourth in magnitude in three-quarters of a century. The river <br />i reached a stage 10 feet lower than that of 1!l21. The Rocky Mountain <br />News of July 27,1893, stated as follows: <br /> <br />Heavy rain at Pueblo broke the levee Ilnd did $200,000 damage, At!) p. m. <br />July 26 the river began to rise and rose 8 feet in 2 hours. A saloon standing <br />in the levee became undermined and fell into the channel. Water rushed through <br />the break in the levee, and. in 10 minutes the city hall was surrounded by 6 feet <br />of water, The crcst of this flood Is ~al<l to have reach",1 the floor of the Unioll <br />Dppot, <br /> <br />The rainfall at Pueblo was 1.36 inches on July 26 and 0.22 inch on <br />the 27th. The precipitation for the year was 6.84 inches, as compared <br />with a normal precipitation of 12.50 inches. <br />The most destructive flood in the history of t.he Arkansas Valley <br />prior to the flood of 1921 occurred May 30, 1894. Heavy precipita- <br />tion on May 30 and 31 extended over the' Arkansas drainage basin, <br />, taking the form of snow at the higher elevations, notably on Pikes <br />Peak and the mountains in the upper end of the basin. On the, eve- <br />ning of lIfay 30 Salida reported that rain had fallen continuously for <br />36 hours and probably would continue during that night. For dura- <br />tion and volume the storm at that point exceeded anything in the <br />memory of the oldest inhabitant. At the same time Florence re- <br />ported that rain had fallen for the preceding 24 hours and that <br />the amount was estimated at 3 to 4 inches. Castle Rock and Palmer <br />Lake reported rain on May 30. The rain faIl on the 30th and 31st <br />at Pueblo was 3.02 inches and at Canon City on the 29th and 30th <br />5.06 inches. The following account of the flood is printed in the <br />Rocky Mountain News of ]\fay 31, 1894, in a communication dated <br />at Pueblo May 30: <br /> <br />In consequence of an all-day downpour of rain such as has not occurrcd in <br />this Yalle~' in 20 ~oears,' the Arlmnsas River to-ni;rht came up HllIl hrokp the <br />levees in four places on the north side and two on the south side, Everything <br />is a sea of water from "(Inion A "enue "induct to the post office, All !Jusiness <br />cellars are fllled In that tel'l'itorr. n"d the water is OYer the floors f"om 6 inches <br />