On This Date: Southeast Colorado, Including Pueblo, Decimated By Early-June Flood Disaster
A major flood disaster in early-June 1921 contributed to catastrophic damage along the Arkansas River in southeast Colorado, including Pueblo, killing hundreds as violent, fast-moving waters carried away homes and businesses.
The flooding played out over multiple days June 3-6 and affected a stretch of the Arkansas River from 30 miles west of Pueblo eastward to the Kansas border. Floodwaters covered more than 300 square miles in the Arkansas River Valley.
In Pueblo, the worst of the flooding developed late June 3, with the Arkansas River reaching a crest around midnight on June 4. The floodwaters inundated the city of just over 42,000 at the time with water that was 10 feet deep in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.
The flood wave continued downstream on the Arkansas River across southeast Colorado through communities like La Junta on June 4 to Lamar and Holly near the Kansas border June 5-6.
It's estimated 600 homes were carried away by the floods. The exact death toll is unknown since some bodies were never recovered, but the National Weather Service says at least a few hundred people were killed by the disaster.
Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for nearly 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
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