In all, 26 bridges were destroyed, with damage estimates climbing to 540 million dollars (over $4 billion today).
In response to this awful flood, plans were finalized to create the Chatfield Dam, and shortly after it was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
If you're interested in learning more about this flood, History Colorado is hosting an event tomorrow (Tuesday, June 16th) called Remembering the 1965 South Platte Flood at 7pm. Climatologist Nolan Doesken, meteorologist Robert Glancy, and historian B. Erin Cole will be discussing the science and impacts of the flood. For more, visit the
History Colorado event site
.
The Flood of 1965 killed 21 and injured more than 600 over its four-day rampage, starting June 14. While it wasn't the deadliest flood in Colorado's history — the Big Thompson Flood of 1976 claimed 143 lives — it was probably the most damaging and most widespread, impacting two major watersheds across 15 counties.
But most unforgettable was the rain. Up to 14 inches dumped on several spots south of Castle Rock in just a matter of hours on the afternoon of June 16 — swelling rivers and tributaries over their banks and into people's cars, homes and businesses.
The South Platte River through Denver, usually flowing at no more than 800 cubic feet per second in June, gushed at more than 40,000 cfs.
The Flood of 1965 made it plain that neglect of the city's river would not come without consequences. "June 16, 1965, was the day the river gave back to Denver what Denver had given to it for 100 years," said Jeff Shoemaker, executive director of The Greenway Foundation in Denver. "The city couldn't ignore the river anymore."
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