June 18, 2022

Yellowstone Turned 150 This Year. Now It’s Being Inundated With Floodwater.

Yellowstone National Park was forced to close all entrances to visitors this week, after heavy rainfall and snowmelt caused massive flooding to sweep through the area, ripping through roads, bridges, and homes. More than 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate the nation’s oldest national park. As of yesterday, there have been no major injuries or deaths reported, officials said.

The damage, however, is extensive and could take years to repair. “Because initial damage assessments are ongoing, the [National Park Service] does not yet have an estimate on when Yellowstone will fully reopen nor are preliminary costs for repairs and recovery available,” NPS said in a statement. Yellowstone had just celebrated its 150th anniversary in March, the Associated Press notes, and was nearing its busiest season when the floods hit.

While an official reopening date has not been set, officials said three out of the five park entrances are “targeted for reopening as early as next week.”

Here are some of the most dramatic videos and photos from the disaster:

Flooding at the North Entrance Road

Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service via AP

National Park Service

Flooding in Livingston, Montana, on June 14

William Campbell/Getty

@kryptekeeper

Bison walking up road during yellowstone flood.#yellowstonenationalpark #yellowstoneple#yellowstonepark💜

♬ original sound – KrypteKeeper

Resident Knute Thompson looks on as volunteers clean out his flooded basement in Red Lodge, Montana

Rick Bowmer/AP

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Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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