Cheyenne Begins Recovery From Deluge

Townspeople began cleaning up from the worst thunderstorm and flooding in city history Saturday as a federal team prepared to begin estimating damage believed to be in the millions.

Gov. Ed Herschler signed a request for a presidential disaster declaration that would make property owners eligible for low-interest loans or grants.

“People kind of sat down and had an initial cry over the thing and then started to help each other,” Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Broyles said. “People have been just great about helping one another.”

Six inches of rain plus six inches of hail deluged Cheyenne in less than four hours Thursday night, flooding basements and first floors, shredding shrubs and sweeping cars and trucks down streets. Water ran six feet deep in normally trickling Dry Creek and in city streets. The city normally gets only 12 to 13 inches of precipitation a year.

Officials said the Cheyenne Police Department building, which had flood waters to within inches of its basement ceiling, might have to be condemned. The police dispatch operation was working out of a room in the city building.

Offers of Help

The mayor’s office coordinated requests for help and offers from persons with pumps, wet vacuums and time to help bail water and hail out of basements. Some persons offered spare rooms to those who needed a place to stay.

The Salvation Army provided emergency shelter, food and clothing, and the Cheyenne Assn. of Broadcasters put out a call for donations.

A temporary morgue set up to receive bodies of victims was disbanded Saturday, and the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department said all those reported missing had been accounted for.

One of the 12 victims died of a heart attack, and one drowned in a flooded basement. The other 10 were found along Dry Creek, which cuts across north Cheyenne.

Bodies in Creek

“All of these victims were not just floating gently down the stream. They were hitting things as they went,” said Laramie County Coroner Roger Radomsky.

Broyles said the department posted deputies to watch some houses along Dry Creek that were flooded so badly the owners had to leave, but said his department had received no reports of looting.

One car that was washed into Dry Creek and stranded had two expensive handguns on the floor all Thursday night, Broyles said. No one took them “and there were people all over.”

Alan Miller, a spokesman for State Farm Insurance, said Saturday that he estimated claims for car and home damage would be about $28 million for all insurers, based on claims submitted to his company. That does not include uninsured flood damage, however, and only about 130 homes in Cheyenne had flood insurance, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Marv Davis said.

FEMA officials met with state and local disaster officials Saturday, Davis said, adding that an initial damage figure might be ready by today.