Violent storms, called cloudbursts, can cause an unbelievable amount of damage, as you can see in the following news reports from the past when people were drowned, struck by lightning, and houses and bridges were swept away.
1. Cloudburst Buries Town
A heavy storm in Telluride, Colorado during the summer of 1914, brought mud down from the mountains, causing two deaths, and massive damage to homes and businesses.
“Two persons are known to be dead and several are unaccounted for today as the result of a terrific cloudburst Monday which sent a wall of water and mud down upon Telluride from the surrounding mountains. 120 stores in the business section are submerged in from eight to twenty feet of mud, several score of homes have been wrecked and $300,000 damage has been done.”
[Source: The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.), 28 July 1914.]
2. 20 Killed and Hotel Turned Upside Down
A cloudburst struck Seven Troughs, Nevada in 1912. The flooding caused 20 deaths and a hotel building was flipped over.
“20 persons killed by cloudburst that struck the town of Seven Troughs, Nevada. Hotel at Mazuma turned upside down by rush of water. Telegraph wires down.”
Source: The day book. (Chicago, Ill.), 19 July 1912.
3. Families Left Homeless
In the winter of 1016, news from out of Los Angeles, California tells us that three were dead and numerous people were left homeless after days of nothing but rain.
“Three persons were killed, $1M damage was done to property and the city was almost cut off from the outside world Tuesday by uninterrupted rains since Saturday, resulting in floods rendering many homeless.
“The downpour at times, virtually a cloudburst, was accompanied by intermittent gales. Wind last night leveled hundreds of derricks in the great Taft oil fields, threatening to start fires and explosions.
“Scores of families have been carried in boats from the doors and windows of their flooded homes.
“Railroads in Southern California are crippled by the storm. Numerous washouts have been reported. Dry creeks became raging torrents. Small brooks were turned into rivers and lakes, some two and three miles wide, sweeping ranch houses and livestock away.”
Source: The day book. (Chicago, Ill.), 19 Jan. 1916.
4. Denver Cloudburst Caused Death and Destruction
Denver and Boulder face mass destruction after a cloudburst caused a wall of water to flood the areas in the summer of 1906.
“A cloudburst carried death and destruction of property over a wide area in this section yesterday.
“The storm was central near this city. A wall of water ten feet high was precipitated upon the town, coming down Dry Creek. The buildings along the bank for miles were swept and for the most part wrecked. All bridges over the creek were swept away, the tide overcoming every barrier with one impetuous rush of water.
“Half the town of Boulder is under water and great damage has been done to property.
“All the bridges at Florence have been carried away and part of the town is under water.
“A young woman, Fay Powers, was killed by lightning in the streets of that city.”
Source: The daily Alaskan. (Skagway, Alaska), 09 July 1906.
