Yellowstone National Park Flood Affects Nearby Montana Neighborhood After Destroying Roads in the Tourist Spot

The Yellowstone National Pak flood has been affecting nearby towns in Montana, as it swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities when the waters moved downstream on Wednesday.

According to Associated Press, residents from Red Lodge, Montana utilized shovels and wheelbarrows on Wednesday to pump and clear the thick mud and debris from a flooded home along the banks of the Rock Creek.

Red Lodge is known to be a gateway town to the Yellowstone National Park's northern end.

Businesses in Gardiner, Montana were also shuttered by the flood.

"It's a Yellowstone town, and it lives and dies by tourism, and this is going to be a pretty big hit... They're looking to try to figure out how to hold things together," Park County Commissioner Bill Berg underscored.

Berg added that businesses in the said area were just starting to recover from the tourism contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Park County's disaster emergency services manager, Greg Coleman, told CNN on Wednesday that at least two homes collapsed in Gardiner. Coleman added that numerous homes and businesses in the area were flooded.

The Montana National Guard on Monday and Tuesday sent soldiers to Red Lodge for search and rescue efforts. The state's national guard also said in a statement that they used helicopters to rescue 87 people in south-central Montana since Monday.

Laura Jones from Rocky Mountain Rotors also confirmed that at least 40 people were flown out of Gardiner by a Montana helicopter.

Montana's Drinking Water Affected by the Yellowstone National Park Flood

The Yellowstone National Park flood also affected the drinking water of Montana after a water treatment plant was forced to shut down after the tragedy, Newsweek reported.

The City of Billings announced that its water plant closed on Tuesday night after water levels exceeded 16 feet. A Wednesday news release from the agency claimed that the closure of the plant is down because the facility cannot operate properly when the water level is higher than 15 feet.

The affected water treatment plant's existing water supply will last the city at least a day, prompting officials from Billings to urge their residents to conserve water.

Officials from Park County in Montana claimed that extensive flooding made water in some areas "unsafe for drinking."

Gardiner community was instructed not to drink the local water, but that order was replaced with a boil water advisory by Tuesday evening.

Yellowstone National Park Remains Closed Over Floods

All park entrances in the Yellowstone National Park remained closed on Wednesday after the flood damaged several roads and bridges in the famous tourist spot.

Park officials announced on Tuesday that the northern portion of the national park may remain closed "for a substantial length of time," as many of the roads in the said portion of the park will require time to be reconstructed.

Previously, Park Superintended Cam Sholly noted that more than 10,000 people have left the Yellowstone National Park since Monday.

"There will be no inbound visitor traffic at any of the five entrances into the park, including visitors with lodging and camping reservations, until conditions improve and park infrastructure is evaluated," a release from the Yellowstone National park reads.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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