The rain previously brought relief from the drought. Now, the rain has brought destruction to Colorado.

Since the Waldo Canyon Fire in Mountain Shadows in the summer of 2012, the rain has brought sadness. Whenever it rains, debris comes down from the Waldo Canyon burn scar and floods creeks such as the Fountain Creek and Boulder Creek.

The rains have caused terror throughout the state of Colorado.

The recent increase in rain since September 9th has flooded many other towns in Colorado. The town of Lyons, north of Boulder, was completely underwater.

The floods have left more than five hundred people missing and now eight dead. Many people are missing from Lyons and Boulder. There are two deaths in El Paso county, three in Boulder and three in Lyons.

Here in Manitou Springs, the floods have wrecked the town. The streets were covered in mud and the water was so high and filled with dirt it looked like part of the land.

Many businesses in Manitou have barricaded their doors and windows with sandbags. Many people have made plans of where to go in case of floods.

All summer, people looked to the skies to decide if they were safe or not. When the skies opened up, everyone ran to higher ground to avoid the floods.

Two weeks ago, the water main for Manitou broke and we were under a Boil Order due to the flooding. A Boil Order basically makes the citizens of a town boil their water before using it because it might not be potable.

However, rescue efforts have been active since the week of rain three weeks ago. Rescue efforts have gone nonstop trying to rescue people stranded in their towns.

Many of the missing people have been found and brought to safety. The water mains were fixed quickly and things gradually returned to normal.

But still, with the clouds always hanging over us, we never know when the next flood may be. The danger of overflowing creeks is always present. Until we have protection from the debris coming down from the Waldo Canyon burn scar, we have to stay vigilant.

For students, when it rains, we will have to stay at school. Like a reverse snow day of some kind.

Just remember to be careful and watch the skies.

By Matt Rivera