Is Colorado Natural Disaster Free? (Floods, Tornadoes, Earthquakes etc..) (Denver: 2013, condo)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

I as well remember the 1970 flood Jazzlover mentioned in his previous post. And to underline a point about how bad things come in three's, it was only three, maybe four years later that a devastating fire roared through Durango's downtown in the early 1970's, I'm thinking late Spring of 1974. If memory serves, it was either the 700 block or the 800 block of Main St. that basically burned completely up. Jazz, I'm positive you remember them. I will say those old buildings were firetraps if memory serves. What was the cause of the fires?

I was in Durango a few weeks before that fire and then not long afterwards. I don't remember the cause, either. It was sad, those were some very historical buildings in Durango. Coincidentally, it was just about that time that Durango started its transition from the somewhat normal--albeit tourist-oriented--western Colorado town that it had been into the yuppie and transplant-infested cartoon that it is now. Too bad that a once history-full town got trampled over by resort sprawl. That might be "progression," but it sure as hell ain't "progress." I consider that a far worse "disaster" than many of the natural ones.

[sterlinggirl]

Here's another man-made disaster.

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | High uranium levels found near Denver water supply

[Amy WJ]

Go for it, youngEntrepreneur. It's all relative; people who have never experienced what you have will never understand what you're talking about. Likewise is true as well. There's only one way to find out for yourself. It will be worth your while! Find a job first, then go.

[Trule]

Thank you for such a wonderful post and questions. It's everything I need to ask.

Where did you end up moving to? I'm in Northern California and would love to move away; my husband and I just don't know where yet. There are articles of a low rate or safe from natural disasters; but then other reports says differen��

[Trule]

My husband and I need to move out of Northern California.
Please tell me where you decided on?

Thank you for your time and the wonderful questions on the post!

[Mike from back east]

Trule, there are few places that are totally free of natural disasters, including Colorado. We don't get hurricanes or earthquakes or tsunamis but we do get forest fires and some flooding near rivers. We've had about 3 deaths by tornado in the last 50-60 years, that's all, but we get lots of hail, lightning and avalanches. Overall it's quite safe in Colorado and that's part of why we moved here (COLO SPGS). MILLIONS of people live here along the I-25 corridor from Pueblo to Fort Collins and it's overwhelmingly safe. Going up in the mountains during summer you get a lot of lightning strikes if hiking, falls off of cliffs or from biking (my M.D. broke his neck cycling, he's fine now). In the winter there are some avalanches up there. Overall I'd say NOT to worry about natural disasters, just know about the risks I mentioned and play it safe. Deaths from these outdoor activities are rare. Along the Front Range there are hail storms in the summer, so a garage for your car is a good idea. In summation, set aside these worries and worry about affordability as it's not cheap here.

The vast majority of jobs are in the Denver Metro Area, consider starting your own thread to tell us what you do for work, your budget, school needs, etc, and you'll get lots of advice.

[MtnJam]

Wow. Great to look back a few years on musings from wise CO souls like Jazzlover, Sterlinggirl, and Delta. Hope they're all still around and doing well!

[Gunluvver2]

Colorado has really nasty Flash Floods (Big Thompson of 197?)> I witnessed a flood on our farm in Eastern Yuma County in 1962. My Dad had a rain gauge that would measure up to 13-1/2 inches and in less than an hour a local thunderstorm filled it from empty to overflowing. The storm from North to South was maybe three miles wide and lasted less than an hour. Our farm was on the Western edge of what we called the "breaks" or "canyons" that ran on East into Kansas for about 12 miles. These canyons are typically two or three hundred yards across and forty to seventy five feet deep. Several dozen horses, cattle and numerous deer were caught and washed away but fortunately no Human lives were lost. A Natural Disaster on a small scale.

Tornadoes are quite common on the Eastern Plains. Killer hailstorms kill livestock and if a hailstone can kill a horse or cow what do you suppose it could do to a Human? Wheat/prairie fires have killed a few over the years and if you have ever witnessed one you will never forget it. Avalanches kill a few every year also. Getting stranded in a full scale blizzard can also do you in. All of these can be nasty but automobile accidents are my biggest concern ANYWHERE.

[jamies]

Aww cluck it, I'm moving to Jackson Hole. Might just as well live on top of the caldera and get free hot water till it blows and get vaporized in the blast rather than starve and fight hordes of survivalists with the rest of you.

[beezle1]

I would say we are mostly free of widespread 'disasters' here, but as mentioned above we do have have a few tornadoes, fires, flooding, blizzards, etc. My advice is to take short vacations to places you are considering in the US, and see for yourself if you like the areas.