“Many Americans have seen photos like this one that show the widespread and indiscriminate path of the flood waters. In some places even today entire communities are still underwater, with families and homes uprooted by the ferocious strength of nature”, said Udall.
On September 17, 2013 Senator Mark Udall was granted permission to address the United States Senate regarding the devastating floods in Colorado.
“Madam President, I thank the Chair for the recognition, and I rise today to talk about the unimaginable losses all of us in Colorado have experienced over this last week.”
“While much of the Nation’s attention was focused on Syria or on the activities here in Washington, those of us in Colorado watched rain fall for 1, 2, 3, and 4 days straight with no end in sight. Creeks, such as the one that runs behind my home in Eldorado Springs, swelled. Culverts, such as those in Commerce City, quickly filled with rushing water. Rivers, such as the Big Thompson near the beautiful town of Estes Park, turned into walls of water that threatened entire communities. From the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Eastern Plains, rivers overtopped their banks–crumbling highways, drowning family homes, and transforming entire farms into lakes”, he said.
“Many Americans have seen photos like this one that show the widespread and indiscriminate path of the flood waters. In some places even today entire communities are still underwater, with families and homes uprooted by the ferocious strength of nature. We say that water makes the West possible, but this past week Mother Nature gave us rain for 5 straight days, and now at least eight people are dead and hundreds are still missing or in need of rescue. We pray that we find every single one of those missing persons alive and in good health”, said Udall.
“As of today the President has issued major disaster declarations for 4 counties and 15 counties are in a state of emergency, where lifesaving rescue efforts are still underway. In these areas active search and rescue operations are being conducted 24 hours a day by the Colorado National Guard, local police and fire departments, and rescue teams flown in from across the State and around our country. At least 19,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. Several towns, such as Jamestown and Lyons, have been washed out and lack even the most basic public services. The town of Estes Park, which I mentioned earlier, the gateway community to the Rocky Mountain National Park, has literally been cut off from the rest of the State because the two major highways to it have literally been destroyed and the only access road will soon be closed for the winter”, said Udal (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov/).
Senator Udall has been named to the U.S. Senate Committees on: Armed Services, Energy and Natural Resources, and Intelligence.