The devastating rains that have caused ferocious flooding in Colorado has claimed the lives of five people and left hundreds more still missing.
According to ABC News, 631 people are unaccounted for, with 398 being from Larimer County, Colo., alone.
Twenty-one Colorado National Guard military helicopters resumed the search Monday afternoon for residents cut off by the rising waters after being grounded Sunday. A total of 20 military helicopters and crews were scheduled to conduct evacuation operations Sunday. Most were grounded as heavy rain and low ceilings hampered visibility, according to the National Guard.
More than 1,000 residents remain stranded in areas isolated by the rising floodwaters, which have damaged or destroyed more than 19,000 homes.
As many as 1,000 people in Larimer County were awaiting rescue Sunday, but airlifts were grounded because of the rain, Type 2 Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team commander Shane Del Grosso said.
The stranded are without power and are thought to be low on food. Del Grasso says they need a break in the weather to continue rescue efforts.
"We need a change in the weather pattern to get a break and to really go after what needs to be done out there," Del Grosso told ABC News Radio.
The National Guard is working overtime and has conducted at least 400 helicopter rescues in what is now the largest aerial rescue operation since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Days of punishing rain and floods have transformed the mountain communities in Colorado's Rocky Mountain foothills from a paradise for backpackers and nature lovers into a disaster area with little in the way of supplies or services.
On Sunday, military helicopters rescued 12 people before the rain, and 80 more people were evacuated by ground, Colorado National Guard Lt. James Goff said. Altogether, over 2,100 people and more than 500 pets had been rescued by air and ground as of late Sunday, according to CNN.
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