Flooding Takes Loveland Residents By Surprise
LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4) – Several homeowners dealt with flood damage after heavy rains pounded Loveland.
"I figured it was just a storm. I didn't think anything bad was going to happen," said homeowner Lou Nypayer.
A glance inside Nypayer's house showed how his Memorial Day weekend plans crumbled right before her eyes.
"It just kept coming down and down and down, didn't stop. Lightening, thunder, the windows were shaking. The house was kind of shaking," said Nypayer.
His basement collapsed after Loveland got hit with almost four inches of rain in just three hours.
"I think part of it could be from the ground being so saturated from last year and then winter snow and the wet spring we had," said Nypayer.
Homeowner Jeannie Machon got a different view of Sculpture Park with some of the statues being submerged in water.
"I was actually laughing because there's an octopus sculpture up there that I've always thought to myself, 'Why is there an octopus here?' But today it looks perfectly in place," said Machon.
"The flooded area where you would normally walk across, I mean it's crazy. I've never seen anything like it. I couldn't imagine here that this much water would come through."
Larimer County leaders are preparing for more heavy rain.
Nypayer remains optimistic that the damage is fixable.
"There's always a lesson to learn from everything and be thankful for what we have," she said.
Officials say they're monitoring river levels and emergency crews are on standby.