More than 1,500 homes have been destroyed, with another 17,500 damaged in wake of Colorado’s devastating floods. In addition, the flooding has washed away and damaged hundreds of roads, making evacuations efforts a struggle for most people still in need of rescue. As of this morning, 1,250 people are missing and unaccounted for, while 7 are confirmed dead. It’s safe to say that the situation has been growing grim for the fifteen counties involved, all declared disaster zones. An entire year’s worth of rain has fallen in Boulder in just eight days. Unfortunately, the flooding is also expected to continue. Much of the state is still in a recovery and response stage as rescue workers continue to search for missing people and help the remaining hundreds evacuate to safety.
The total damage can be fully assessed once the water begins to recede, but for now the priority is helping those who are still unaccounted for. The aerial response teams, including the U.S. Army and National Guard, are still taking flight and fanning out across the flooded regions searching for stranded people. More than 1000 people in Larimer County are said to be cut off by ground and continue to wait for rescue helicopters, but there isn’t very much land for the helicopters to land and if the flooding continues to destroy whatever available land there is, authorities are expected to drop food and water to those still stranded until the rescues become possible. The current air evacuation efforts are said to be the largest since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.