In light of Manitou Springs flooding, how prepared is the rest of Southern Colorado?
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- On Wednesday, severe storms hit El Paso County, with a flash flood warning issued to Manitou Springs. Sirens blared across the downtown area, and residents of select locations, like the Pikes Peak RV Park, were ordered to briefly evacuate.
Many residents applauded the prompt action from officials, who also went door-to-door knocking to alert residents of impacted areas.
KRDO13 has learned that the flash flooding response would be quite different in the rest of Southern Colorado, specifically Colorado Springs, Fountain and Pueblo, compared to what we saw in Manitou Springs.
Residents of those three cities won't be hearing the same warning sirens if there is a major flash flood. Emergency response officials told KRDO13 the only siren in those regions is on the Pueblo reservoir dam.
"We don't have the same flooding risks as frequently, so Peak Alerts seem to work very well for us," said Fountain Fire Division Chief Jared Cass.
Peak Alerts is the emergency notification system for the entire Pikes Peak Region. Pueblo uses something similar. KRDO13 walks you through how to sign up for each below. You have to opt in for notifications, or else you will not get those emergency alerts.
"Everyone should have their own evacuation plan," said Pikes Peak Emergency Management Director Andrew Notbohm.
Officials told KRDO13 that there is a lower risk of deadly flash flooding as you travel southeast along Fountain Creek from Manitou Springs, because the creek beds are wider. Wider creek beds mean slower water flow and more room for the water to pool up before it goes over the edge.
Pueblo has other infrastructure in place to mitigate flooding from the Arkansas River, like its levee and the Pueblo Reservoir dam.
"In the past, we've gone out and specifically targeted those areas using patrol cars, fire trucks, and the loudspeakers on those vehicles to try and get those people further away," said Pueblo County Emergency Management Coordinator Joshua Johnson.
Chief Cass said they do the same in their trouble spots, like Bandley Drive and Link Road.
"I know for sure I've been on calls where we've rescued people off of vehicles," Cass said.
You can sign up for Peak Alerts online here or on the Everbridge mobile app. To sign up for phone alerts, download Everbridge from the app store, allow notifications, and search for "Peak Alerts" in the search bar.
The Pueblo Police Department has an alert system called Hyper-Reach, which you can sign up for here. The Pueblo Sheriff's office has a similar alert system called RAVE for all of Pueblo County; you can sign up for it here.
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