Is there a part of Colorado Springs area that isn't due for a flood? (Denver: insurance, buying a house)

[christianguitarist27]

I watched this thing about Colorado Springs (On youtube, it was on the news out there though.) And they were saying there's this Huge flood that you guys are due for & it happened before. One of those hundred year things.

Anyway, I was looking at purchasing in either Colorado Springs, or maybe Highlands Ranch area.. (Which is maybe 15-20 miiles away from Denver.)

I don't want to be near any Natural Disaster areas.

Please, take a moment to write me back.
Any information &/or recommendations would help- thank you!

[Vision67]

Just stay a few hundred feet above the creek bottoms and you'll be fine.

Most of the inhabitants of Colorado Springs will refer you to the Bible in the Book of Genesis where God told Noah that he would never recreate the big flood. Don't sweat it man!

[otowi]

A lot of things have changed - the flood plains do not work the same as they used to because the creek is now walled in many places, there are overflow paths, etc. Of natural disasters, flood is not a major concern here to be honest. Flash flooding, yeah, sure, a bit now and then, but there simply is not the water here for something like the Mississippi floods, etc. The rivers start here at the Continental Divide and they are small/tiny. The more realistic and serious natural threats here are lighting, hail, blizzard, wind, etc.

[otowi]

If natural disaster worries floats your boat: Natural Disaster Threat Maps

And if you watch Brad Meltzer's Decoded, you would've heard that right here is one of the safest places to be in 2012 when most of the country will "sink" into the oceans.

[Marcy1210]

Some summer thunderstorms produce large amounts of rain in a short amount of time that overflows some of the creeks, streets, and gutters quickly, but major flooding isn't much of a problem, usually. As long as your on higher ground than the runoff, you're fine.

[lalahartma]

Yup, no worries here, unless you live on a creek.

There a reason why why a number of big companies have their data centers here!

[sesamekid]

If you are buying a house, just make sure it is not in a flood zone. Every listing should have this information. Or you could always go on the FEMA website and check for CS flood maps.

[hollyt00]

For insurance purposes, I live in a 100 year flood zone, downtown.

[vfrpilot]

The topography here is so varied that I can't see a flood that would affect a large area. Just stay away from homes close to streams or low lying areas. In the midwest or south where there are hundred of square miles of low lying areas, it can get out of hand pretty fast and sit around for a long time. Basement flooding is a bigger concern around here and can happen from a summer t-storm or snow runoff. Educate yourself about French drains, sump pumps, window wells, and lot grading affecting drainage. Moving here from San Diego, I had no clue about basements and their issues. By absolute blind luck, our garden level basement has had no problems. I have seen neighbors deal with broken sump pumps(we don't have or need one), windows blown out by flooded window wells, and a basement flooded due to poor grading.

[Bob from down south]

Do a little research on the June 1965 floods here in Colorado Springs. A line of storms put over a foot of rainfall on the Larkspur area, washed out something like 1200 miles of roadway and close to 100 bridges in El Paso County alone.

FEMA flood zone maps aren't completely reliable--they're mostly based on historical data, so Mother Nature can put 15 inches of rain somewhere she hasn't hit before and produce a whole new set of datapoints for the flood maps. Being one of those datapoints isn't a good thing. A house near a creekbed or in a low area relative to its surrounding topography is always something of a risk if the conditions are right.