RecoveryColorado recovering as it marks one year anniversary of devastating flood
On 29 September 2013 Colorado experienced the most severe natural disaster that had ever befallen the state. Within three days much of the state had experienced a rainfall equivalent to its total for the entire year. In the end, nine people died, nearly 1,000 were evacuated by helicopter, and 1,800 homes were destroyed. The total cost of the damage reached $2.9 billion. Now, a year later, Colorado is finally coming back.
On 29 September 2013 Colorado experienced the most severe natural disaster that had ever befallen the state. Within three days much of the state had experienced a rainfall equivalent to its total for the entire year. In the end, nine people died, nearly 1,000 were evacuated by helicopter, and 1,800 homes were destroyed. The total cost of the damage reached $2.9 billion.
As theDenver Post reports, citizens of Denver, Boulder, and other parts of the state are finally coming from the under the effect of the disaster, at the one-year anniversary of that event.
“This disaster has changed communities and the landscape. And this is going to take us years to recover from,” said Dan Alexander, the recovery coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Many families are still living in FEMA housing, and some communities are only now beginning to look normal again, but there is a sense of hope amongst those most affected. The Sutorius family, for instance, saw their double-wide trailer completely totaled by a rising river. FEMA provided the family with a new place to live, $27,000 dollars in direct aid, and some semblance of a life.
“I don’t know where we would be right now if FEMA hadn’t helped us,” said Kit Sustorius, “We’re getting there. We’re getting back on our feet.”
“We’re focused on building back stronger, better,” echoes Molly Urbina, another recovery officer for Colorado, “But this is not a sprint — it’s a marathon. And we’re just starting the marathon.”
That outlook drives many to consider that rebuilding is a long struggle, and no quick turnaround will guarantee the full re-emergence of the area. Admittedly, state and federal funding totaling in installments ranging from $62.8 million to $217 million are still forthcoming for infrastructure, and some communities are even raising money on their own to continue to address housing and rebuilding needs.
However, one of the best indicators of how the state is faring — business — is markedly more positive than most would have anticipated. Sales tax revenues are actually up 6 percent in the year-to-date from June following the same month in 2013.
“We’re much further along and in much better shape than I’d ever guessed,” said Jon Nicholas, the CEO of Estes Park Economic Development Corporation, for the town of Estes Park. The Estes Park Economic Development Corporation is granting the town money for marketing campaigns and job growth to better support smaller and local businesses.
With time and resiliency comes recovery, and many throughout Colorado are finally starting to see it come to fruition now — a year later.
