Fifty years ago this week, a beautiful summer evening in Colorado ended in catastrophe. On the night of July 31, 1976, a powerful thunderstorm stalled over the Big Thompson Canyon west of Loveland, unleashing a torrential rainfall in a matter of hours. The resulting flash flood killed 144 people and became the single deadliest disaster in the state’s history.  For Lori Peek, professor of sociology and director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, the flood’s most important legacy may be the lessons that emerged from it—and the realization that those lessons still require attention today. “Anniversary events like this one are so important because they serve as moments for communities to come together and reflect upon what was lost, what we’ve learned and what we still need to do to become more resilient in the future,” she says.