In the immediate aftermath of the catastrophic flash flood that impacted Fort Collins, Colorado, on 28 July 1997, Prof. Fred Ogden of the University of Wyoming, (formerly at the Univ. of Connecticut)  Prof. Jerry Richardson of the University of Missouri, and Prof. James Smith of Princeton University realized that this unfortunate and rare event could reveal useful information about the nature of extreme flash flooding.  These three researchers began collecting data on 29 July, 1997, and a collaborative research proposal was submitted to the U.S. National Science Foundation in late August, 1997.  This proposal was selected for funding because of the unique circumstances and high likelihood of creation of a significant, detailed data set of the flood.

   The photograph above shows the large detention basin in Fort Collins formed by the railroad embankment on the right-hand edge of the photo. This detention basin filled to a level near the top of the earth berm surrounding the blue water tank in the center of the photo during the flood. Significant damage and unfortunate loss of life occurred immediately downstream from this railroad embankment.

The two main purposes of this web site are to:

• Disseminate data collected during our investigation, and provide links to other data sources.  These data are of interest to: water resources engineers, hydrologic scientists, and emergency management personnel.
• Present results of the collaborative data analysis to illustrate unique features of this extreme event, identify data uncertainty and additional data collection needs to help plan for future extreme events.

Explore the links below to see results of our collaborative data collection and research program.

 

Home

History

Data

Pictures

Damages

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A number of Graduate Students assisted with this study.

Robert Trivino, former M.S. candidate, University of Missouri, Kansas City
Sharika U.S. Senarath, former Ph.D. Candidate, University of Connecticut, now at South Florida Water Management District
Hatim O. Sharif, former Ph.D. Candidate, University of Connecticut, now Asst. Prof. at the Univ. of Texas, San Antonio

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Acknowledgements:  Click here to see who helped with this study.
 
 

 

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Interesting Links

Fort Collins, General information http://fcgov.com

Fort Collins, Flood information http://fcgov.com/stormwater/

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Questions and Comments

Last updated 6/11/03