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<br />. <br /> <br />Park and 3.66 Inches at Waterdale. Between 4 and 7 June, Estes <br />Park received 3.92 Inches of rainfall while Waterdale received <br />5.30 Inches. Lowland areas west of Loveland were flooded and <br />U. S. Highway 34 to Estes Park was damaged. <br /> <br />August 1951. On 2 and 3 August 1951, intense <br />rains over much of the basin caused severe flooding along the Big <br />Thompson River from Buckhorn Creek to the mouth. The peak dis- <br />charge at Drake was 3,530 c.f.s. on 3 August. At the river mouth <br />the flow peaked at 6,100 c.f.s. on 4 August. Estes Park received <br />1.31 Inches of rain during 2 and 3 August; Waterdale measured <br />4.64 Inches, of which 4.18 Inches fel Ion 2 August. On Buckhorn <br />Creek, a dam containing about 1,000 acre-feet of stored water, <br />failed at 10:00 P.M. on 3 August. The flood crest reached Love- <br />land at 11:30 P.M. and the peak there was estimated to be 22,000 <br />c.f.s. The river was reported to be a mile wide In places. Num- <br />erous rural homes were flooded, many swept from their foundations. <br />One mile of U. S. Highway 34 west of Loveland was washed away. <br />Irrigation works, such as diversion dams and canals, were des- <br />troyed, crop loss was heavy, and there was much sediment and ero- <br />sion damage. The lives of four people were lost and many were <br />left homeless. Total damages from the flood were estimated at <br />$602,000. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />21 <br />