Flash floods in Texas killed at least 104 people over the weekend and left many still missing, bringing back tragic memories from major floods in Colorado’s past.

“When I see that, my heart goes out to the community, especially with loss of life,” said Mike Chard, director of the Office of Disaster Management for the City and County of Boulder, referring to the flooding in Texas. “It just rips you up inside that even one life was lost.”

Chard can relate to what first responders in Texas are going through after dealing with a deadly flash flood that devastated the Boulder area in 2013. 

Colorado is no stranger to flash floods, especially in the mountains, though it’s been nearly 50 years since the state has seen a flood as dangerous as the one that just struck central Texas. 

The deadliest flood in the state’s history occurred on July 31, 1976, when an estimated 12 inches of rain — a year’s worth of precipitation — rushed through the Big Thompson Canyon area within four hours.

The wall of water raised the Big Thompson River from its normal 18 inches to nearly 20 feet and, according to the 2006 book Natural Hazards and Disasters, the massive rush of water destroyed 418 homes, 52 businesses and 400 cars, many of which contained people trying to escape.

The flood killed 144 people and an additional 250 or more were injured.

The next biggest flood in recent Colorado history happened on Sept. 9-16, 2013 through the Front Range around Boulder County.

While rain persisted throughout the seven days, most of it came on the evening of Sept. 11, when eight inches of rain fell on the area. Boulder County recorded 18.1 inches of rain in total and Larimer County got 12.4 inches.

Nine people died and more than 11,000 were evacuated.

Colorado’s “After Action Report,” published in 2015, tallied 1,882 structures destroyed.

The Big Thompson River also flooded during the event.

“The 2013 flood was a lot of things. It was harrowing, frightening, hectic and exhausting. It was also incredibly rewarding,” Rob Stumpf, fire chief for Lyons Fire Protection District, told The Denver Gazette.

Stumpf was with Berthoud Fire during the flood.

Jennifer Stark, meteorologist in charge at the NWS Forecast Office Boulder, told The Denver Gazette that burn scar areas following the Fourmile Canyon fire in 2010 were a factor in the strength of the 2013 flash flood.

Rain is normally soaked up by a sponge-like layer of pine needles and twigs on the forest floor, but due to burned areas, there was nothing to absorb the rain. Combined with narrow canyons, the floods raged.

While Chard acknowledged that the burn area made the flooding worse, he said it was a silver lining in hindsight.

The fire itself had caused responders in the area to look at response, preparedness and mitigation of weather emergencies, leading to a more efficient response during the 2013 flood that impacted 20 counties across the state.

He said despite severe flooding in Boulder County, only four people died there. 

While there were no burned areas causing the Texas flood, the Texas Hill Country is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape, instead of soaking it up. That water eventually ran into the Guadalupe River.

“They were both no-notice events,” Chard said of both the Texas flood and the 2013 flood in Colorado.

“The flooding here was substantial, and inundated the town quickly,” Stumpf said. “It destroyed most of, if not all, of the affordable housing in Lyons, and the town has struggled to replace it.”

Stumpf said the flooding in Texas appears to have been faster and more dramatic than the 2013 Lyons flood.

Colorado is prone to flash floods, according to Stark, but the danger hasn’t gotten worse since the floods in 1976 or 2013.

“We’re not a stranger to flooding in Colorado,” Stark said. “I don’t know that it’s gotten worse or more intense, but there are a lot more people here than there were in 1976, and even 2013.”

Greg Heavener, a warning coordination meteorologist at NWS Boulder, said people can “absolutely be prepared” for potential flooding events.

“It’s knowing what those hazards are,” he said, pointing toward late July through mid September as the main season for flash floods. He said people should keep an eye out for alerts regarding flash floods before heading out. 

Stark added that floods are more dangerous at night because people are unable to see just how deep the waters are. 

Both said NWS alerts are crucial for keeping people safe during flood events.

The NWS uses radar as the first level of defense. When it sees potential heavy rain in problematic areas, it will put out a weather emergency alert across the state. If someone’s cellphone is pinged in the dangerous area, the cellphone will receive an automatic wireless emergency alert. 

Stark said NWS has more staff during thunderstorm season and the weather bureau keeps a keen eye on conditions.

Insofar as response, the biggest changes since 2013 have been the investments in technology and training, Chard said.

“Our whole goal is to be left-of-bang on these things,” he said. 

These improvements included having meteorology technology and private sources feeding the Boulder office of disaster management threat-outlook info, training from the weather service and staff keeping an eye on radars.

Chard said the three important factors are establishing an emergency operations center (EOC), getting real-time information to those making decisions and coordinating with multiple agencies for on-the-field response.

Stumpf said that since 2013, response times have become more efficient.

Most departments now have “flood polygons” — delineated areas on flood maps, built into dispatch centers so they can evacuate large areas with a single radio request. Systems of mutual aid for dive, swiftwater and watercraft response have also been developed in the wake of the 2013 flood, he said.

“Every firefighter with Boulder Fire-Rescue is trained in swift water rescue and recovery, as well as ice water rescue,” a spokesperson with Boulder Fire-Rescue said.

“I know a lot of people in Lyons who are still traumatized by (the flood), and I imagine the folks in Texas will need a long time to recover,” Stumpf said. “I worry most about the responders, swimmers and divers who have had the painful task of retrieving the bodies of children.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.