User:Easystarlite

What was the worst disaster to hit Pueblo Colorado? Looking back through history of the area, there is no doubt that it was a great flood that hit the area in June 1921. 2011 is the 90th anniversary of this worst natural disaster. The event started on Friday June 3, 1921. An intresting note of history is that the June calender for the year of 2011 is the same day match as the June calender of 1921. June 3rd is on a Friday for each calender being 90 years apart.

With the Arkansas river running through a central part of the city and overflowing, the downtown streets were flooded in a short time and ripped apart everything in it’s path. With such a tremendus amount of water, and reached 15 feet high in some areas. It destroyed agriculture, businesses, transportation, and lives.

Indication of early reports were that several were missing and around a hundred people were found dead. The estimate of damage of this great disaster was close to 20 million dollars with damage and destruction close to two-thirds of Pueblo’s economy. This was a major set back for city growth. Many businesses were lost and or never started again.

The cleanup took weeks to several months before the city was able to recover from the flood. To help prevent a simular water disaster, the Arkinsas river was rerouted to the south and a leeve was build as a guard. A river channel at the riverwalk runs close to where the Arkansas River ran at the time in 1921. As a reminder of the worst flood ever, Pueblo built the historic flood wall at the riverwalk. To this day the flood of 1921 is the largest, and most devastating disaster in Pueblo history. What caused this June 1921 disaster, could it have been prevented?

Taking a look at some of the historical facts that helped build the city of Pueblo. In 1921 Pubelo had been around about 80 years, rising up as a trading center in around 1859 during the Gold Rush of the Rockies. In 1861 Pueblo County was created from the Colorado Territory and by 1870 the town of Pueblo was organized. Pueblo city and county were named for the El Pueblo trading postof 1842 to 1854 that was located near the junction of the Arkansas and Fountain Creek.