Missing accounted for in Fort Collins flood

Death toll stands at 5

FORT COLLINS, Colorado (CNN) -- Three people who were believed missing and feared dead after a fatal flood in Fort Collins were accounted for Wednesday afternoon, leaving the death toll at five.

However, authorities planned to continue their search of flood debris, just in case anyone whose absence hadn't been noticed might have been swept away.

"We don't know who might have been visiting, staying the night or been down here to look," said Glenn Levy, battalion chief with the Poudre Fire Authority.

Besides the fatalities, at least 40 people were injured after more than 8 inches of rain fell on Fort Collins in 12 hours Monday, causing water to form a pool up to 20 feet deep behind a railroad track bed that acted as a dam.

When the water began rushing over the top of the track bed, it quickly eroded the earthen embankment, and a wall of water 10 feet to 20 feet high rushed through two trailer parks in the city of 108,000, about 60 miles (96 km) north of Denver.

Half of CSU library collection damaged

The floodwaters caused extensive damage to the library at Colorado State University, which was in the last stages of a $20 million renovation. About 500,000 books -- half the library's collection -- were damaged. The wet books were to be gathered and placed in refrigerated trucks until they could be blown dry with cold air.

"It's tragic," said Irene Godden, associate dean at CSU. "We were planning a grand opening, and now of course this will have to be delayed." .

Four feet of water also poured through the university's student center, ruining band uniforms, sheet music, pianos and other instruments stored in a basement.

None of the 7,000 students on campus for summer classes was injured, acting CSU President Jud Harper said.

As crews rummaged through the flooded area, the forecast called for more rain later Wednesday, and officials warned of the possibility of more flooding.

"It's going to need watching," said forecaster Todd Dankers of the National Weather Service.

On Wednesday, authorities evacuated Weldona, a small farming community east of Fort Collins, after a thunderstorm forced water out of an irrigation canal, covering the town of 120 residents with a foot of water.

Survivor: 'The current took my aunt away'

The five victims of the Fort Collins flood, all women, were identified as Marie "Rosemary" Rodriguez, Estafana Guarneros, Joann Roth, Sarah Payne and Cindy Schultz.

Ian Leverette said he watched the water rise around his mobile home, and he and his daughter were tossed about when their trailer was wrenched from its moorings.

"It wedged up between two trees and tilted sideways," he said. "It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced."

When Christina Wilson-Silerio last saw her aunt, she was being swept away by the floodwater.

"Where my aunt is, that's all I can think about now," Wilson-Silerio said softly. "My cousin was holding her and three baby girls. Then she just let go. The current took my aunt away."

Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, who lived in the neighborhood when he attended CSU, surveyed the destruction Tuesday and talked to victims.

"It just catches your breath when you see that amount of damage," Romer said.

The disaster hit just days before the 21st anniversary of the Big Thompson River flood, which killed 145 people about 20 miles (36 km) southwest of Fort Collins.

Lari Bangert and her husband, Chris Stoltz, were among the homeless survivors wading through the debris of the mobile home park.

"Everything's gone," she said. "My back yard is a swimming pool."

Romer comforted her.

"I know this feels bad, but you will get through it," he said, as she nodded her head warily. "Hang in there."

Correspondent Don Knapp contributed to this report.

Related sites:

• CNN Weather Forecast for Fort Collins, CO
• The Fort Collins Flood - special section from the Rocky Mountain News
  • Fort Collins Flood Internet Bulletin - a forum for residents of Fort Collins, students at Colorado State and others concerned about the recent events in Fort Collins to post information and notices about the flood and the community's recovery
• Deadly Downpour: Torrential Floods hit Fort Collins - compiled by the Longmont Daily Times-Call and the Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald
• Disaster Relief.org: Rescuers Search Debris For Flood Survivors - July 30,1997
• Weather Underground: Fort Collins, Colorado - conditions and forecast for Fort Collins, Colorado
• Colorado Climate Center - established through the Colorado State University Agricultural Experiment Station to provide information and expertise on Colorado's complex climate
  • Fort Collins Weather Station - current conditions, data plot and a summary for yesterday
• Fort Collins fights back - The Denver Post Online: July 30, 1997
• 9NEWS Forecast - Colorado's weather from local news station
• American Red Cross
• City of Fort Collins Colorado, Main Switch Board - comprehensive collection of links to Fort Collins city resources, events, and information

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