Historic Yellowstone floods wash away roads and bridges, residents evacuated
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- Historic Yellowstone floods washed out roads and bridges.
- The flooding knocked out power and forced park officials to close all entrances indefinitely.
- No injuries have been reported so far.
A torrent of rain combined with a rapidly melting snowpack triggered an avalanche of flooding that forced the evacuation of parts of Yellowstone National Park. This knocked out power and forced park officials to close all entrances indefinitely, just when the summer tourist season was ramping up.
While numerous houses and other structures were destroyed, there were no immediate reports of injuries. Yellowstone officials said they were evaluating the damage caused by the storms, which swept away bridges, triggered mudslides and damaged small structures, forcing evacuations by boats and helicopters.
Flooding causes serious damage
It is unclear how many visitors were stranded or forced to leave the park and how many people living outside the park were rescued and evacuated, reported The Associated Press.
Some of the worst damage occurred in the northern part of the park and in the Yellowstone gateway communities of southern Montana. National Park Service photos of northern Yellowstone showed a mudslide, washed out bridges, and undermined roads by floodwaters from the Gardner and Lamar rivers.
Residents are evacuated
The flooding cut off road access to Gardiner, Montana, a town of about 900 people near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Gardner rivers, just outside Yellowstone’s busy north entrance. Cooke City was also cut off by flooding and evacuations were also issued for Livingston residents.
Officials in Park County, which encompasses those cities, said on Facebook late Monday that extensive flooding across the county had made drinking water unsafe in many areas. Evacuations and rescues were underway and officials urged people who were in a safe place to stay overnight.
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