Sunday items ....

John Wark/AP

1. More Than 1,000 Missing in Colo.

An estimated 1,254 people are still unaccounted for in Colorado’s

devastating floods, with at least four more inches of rain in the already-soaked Boulder expected Sunday. Five deaths have been blamed on the flooding, with a fifth person presumed dead. Among the dead were a man and woman, both 19, who were swept away while leaving their car. In fact, a helicopter surveillance mission carrying Gov. John Hickenslooper and others was forced to divert twice to rescue people waving below for help. The damage of the floods is expected to cost an estimated $150 million in Boulder alone. Meanwhile, New Mexico was also hit by heavy rains, with at least one death blamed on flash floods. Officials estimate that 1,500 homes have been destroyed and about 17,500 damaged so far.

Read it at CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/us/colorado-flooding/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Boulder, Colorado (CNN) -- Rain was still coming down Sunday in Colorado, preventing aerial efforts to search for those missing in a devastating flood, authorities said.

The National Guard grounded all helicopters in the state.

"It's unlikely at this point that we'll be able to reach those who are stranded in the hard-to-reach areas," said Kim Kobel, a spokesperson for Boulder's Office of Emergency Management.

But rescuers continued their ground efforts, searching for what could be hundreds of people unaccounted for.

A tearful Larimer County sheriff told reporters that what he's seen, even in the most devastated areas, has restored his hope.

Sheriff Justin Smith visited areas "somewhat cut off from the rest of the world," he said.

The roads and homes might be gone, but Smith said "inch by inch, mile by mile, community by community, they are taking this stuff back."

Smith spoke of firefighters who pulled signs out of the mud and residents using their ATVs to rescue neighbors.

Smith's hopeful tone was echoed by Boulder native Jake Koplen. His family nearly evacuated as floodwater surrounded his home on all sides. He snapped photos of the scene and posted them toCNN's i Report.

Now his family is beginning the slow work of cleaning up. But they won't do it alone. Koplen says his phone has been ringing non-stop with offers of food and assistance. Even the gawkers who come to see the storm damage are kind, he marveled.

But Koplen knows there's much to do. In places roads and bridges are just gone. Even getting out of his neighborhood is tricky.

Authorities acknowledge that such issues abound. Smith said he couldn't begin to estimate the scope of the damage. "I've known these areas for 25 years," he said "I don't recognize some of them."

He and another official cautioned that the death toll would almost certainly rise.

It may already be as high as six.

Previously, four deaths were blamed on the flooding and a fifth person was presumed dead.

On Sunday, authorities announced another resident presumed dead -- an 80-year-old woman who suffered from injuries and was unable to leave her home.

Another 482 people remain unaccounted for, but authorities said that number could go down throughout the day.

More rain

Residents are still keeping a wary eye on the sky, as more rain is expected -- and could be enough to halt rescue efforts.

"We're going to be in for some steady rain over the next 12 hours," said Kobel. It shouldn't total more than 1 to 2 inches though. "So that's the good news."

Still, authorities worry that any additional water on ground that's already soaked by up to 15 inches of rain will cause more flooding and dislodge mud and debris.

In recent days, rescues in hard to reach areas have taken extraordinary measures. On Saturday a Chinook helicopter piloted by the Colorado National Guard picked up 78 children who got stranded while on a field trip.

Smith spoke of "hearty people" who didn't wait for officials to reach them but who are "finding roads out." He said he'd heard reports of people hiking out of canyons.

Officials plan recovery

Gov. John Hickenlooper said he spoke by phone with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who "was adamant that the $5 million that was released Friday was just the beginning" of federal assistance.

"We're going to come back and rebuild better than it was before," the governor said.

Hickenlooper said experts from Vermont will arrive this week to share lessons about improved road-building learned in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

How to help

Damage worth millions

Boulder County alone will need an estimated $150 million to repair 100 to 150 miles of roadway and 20 to 30 bridges, county transportation director George Gerstle said. The repair bill will be "10 to 15 times our annual budget," he said.

A helicopter surveillance mission Saturday carrying Hickenlooper and members of Colorado's congressional delegation was diverted twice to pick up people waving to be rescued.

After the officials' delayed arrival at a Boulder airport, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall promised a bipartisan push in Congress for federal aid for flood recovery.

President Barack Obama signed a major disaster declaration for Colorado on Sunday and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in Boulder County.

Already some are doing their own math. Barb Vacek doesn't know the dollar amount but she's taken stock of the emotional cost.

Her family is exhausted, their home and many of their mementos, gone. "I did lose my family slides from my parents who are deceased," she said. "I was the person entrusted with them, so my childhood is wiped out."

Right now, she says, her guilt outweighs her grief.

Two teens killed

The four confirmed deaths included a man and a woman, both 19, who were swept away after leaving their car Thursday in Boulder County. Authorities said the woman left the car first, and the man jumped out to try to save her. Authorities recovered both bodies.

Another body was found in a collapsed home in Jamestown in the same county. Rescuers recovered another body on a roadway in Colorado Springs in El Paso County.

The other person presumed dead is a 60-year-old woman. Larimer County officials said witnesses saw her swept away by floodwater that demolished her home.

Neighbors tried unsuccessfully to rescue the woman, said Nick Christensen, executive officer of the sheriff's office.

Her body has not been recovered.

Rain grounds choppers in Larimer

By Tom McGhee
The Denver Post

POSTED: 09/15/2013 12:33:09 PM MDT | UPDATED: ABOUT 3 HOURS AGO

Grounded choppers waiting for clouds, rain to lift at Christman Field in Fort Collins. (Denver Post | Kristen Browning Blas)

Rain is falling hard in Larimer County, keeping rescue helicopters grounded, said Larimer County Sheriff's spokesman John Schulz.

Nine helicopters have been added to the seven that have been performing air rescues in the county.

"The good news is that we have 16 helicopters allocated to us," he said. "The bad news is that they can't get up."

A type 2 management team is in place and helping to bring more resources to bear in the county, Schulz said.

There are now three National Guard Chinook helicopters, seven Black Hawks, three Lakota choppers in Larimer along with three civilian helicopters ready to fly, he said.

and....

New evacuations ordered as rain pounds Colorado flood areas

By Kirk Mitchell, Tom McGhee and Electa Draper
The Denver Post

POSTED: 09/15/2013 10:35:07 AM MDT2 COMMENTS

UPDATED: 09/15/2013 01:00:20 PM MDT

1/5

HYGIENE, CO - SEPTEMBER 13: Flood waters have consumed a house along Hygiene Road east of North 61st street and west of Hygiene, CO on September 14, 2013. Massive flooding continues in 14 continues in Colorado. (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)

‹›

LONGMONT, CO - SEPTEMBER 14: Scott Nissen, of Fort Collins, removes flood damaged sheet rock while helping one of his graduate students begin the recovery effort after their home was flooded in Longmont, Colorado on September 14, 2013. Clean up began on Saturday in downtown Longmont following heavy flooding in previous days. (THE DENVER POST | Seth McConnell)

Another band of heavy rain began falling in flood-ravaged areas of Colorado, causing rivers and streams to rise, even as workers began trying to rechannel waterways where hundreds of homes are swamped and to rebuild roads to isolated mountain towns.

"The situation has deteriorated since early this morning," said Andrew Barth, spokesman for Boulder County Emergency Management. "There's a heavy, heavy fog and rain is coming down hard. Standing water is rising because the ground is saturated."

Boulder sheriff's deputies are checking reports that the St. Vrain River is rising again, Barth said. New evacuation orders have been sent to residents in Longmont and Estes Park.

Pouring rain west of Longmont triggered re-evacuations

of the Greens, Champion Greens and the Valley neighborhoods. Neighborhoods south of Colorado 119 near Interstate 25 also were ordered to leave as Mountain View Fire and Rescue reported the St. Vrain River is rising 7 inches every 15 minutes.

"We are closely monitoring rain gauge levels at five stations along the South St. Vrain and North St. Vrain rivers," said Jeff Satur, spokesman for the Longmont police department.

Also Sunday, the number of presumed dead from the Colorado floods rose to six, after a second woman was reported missing and presumed dead in the Cedar Cove area in Big Thompson Canyon. A 60-year-old woman was reported missing Saturday.

A 80-year-old woman "was injured and couldn't get out of her home," said John Schulz, spokesman for the Larimer County sheriff's department. "When people came back to help her, the house was gone."

Hundreds of National Guard, sheriff's deputies and firefighters from across the west are searching for more than 700 people still unaccounted for in Boulder and Larimer counties.

"We have no idea if there are more victims," Barth said.

Flooding has wiped away large sections of roads, making it risky to reach people in dangerous areas and slowing rescue efforts, Barth said.

Fifteen helicopters in Boulder County that evacuated 1,200 people from Lyons and 295 people from Jamestown were grounded Sunday because of low visibility because of clouds, Barth said.

It also is unclear whether seven helicopters in Larimer County will get off the ground Sunday.

Meantime, National Guard heavy equipment operators have begun to rebuild creek and river banks after floodwaters created new waterways that have swamped several Boulder and Larimer county communities.

"We're going to try to divert the St. Vrain River back into its original channel," Barth said. "It actually took a large turn to the north. It inundated areas where we never expected water to go. It's crazy."

It could take several months to rebuild the banks so that the river flows down its original channel, he said.

Rain continues to pound Boulder County and forecasters predict another 1 to 2 inches of rain Sunday.

Crews have also been repairing and rebuilding roads to reach isolated mountain communities including Lyons and Jamestown.

"We did punch a hole getting to Jamestown but its still pretty slippery," Barth said.

Boulder County Sheriff's deputies have been trying to coax 50 residents staying in their homes in Jamestown to evacuate because the slopes are unstable and new mud slides put them at risk, Barth said.

In Fort Morgan, where the South Platte River divides the city, every road crossing the river is closed due to flooding. "There is no access between the north and south sides of the river," city clerk John Brennan said.

A 300-acre park that straddles Interstate 76 is under water, and a number of hotels and a Walmart were evacuated and closed due to flooding, but the high waters have so far not inundated the city, Brennan said.

The river could, however, still spill into the town when it crests this evening, he added.

Estes Park residents were warned Sunday that they could be evacuated from their homes for months.

"Residents should prepare to evacuate for what may be an extended period of time, as road and infrastructure repairs could take several months," according to a city news release. "Residents must understand that with winter weather impending, staying at home in this area is an extremely dangerous decision and emergency services will not be available to them after evacuation.

Low-lying Estes Park properties along Fish Creek Road were evacuated late Saturday. City officials are checking other neighborhoods for possible evacuations on Sunday.

In Morgan County, waters are beginning to recede after the banks of the South Platte River were flooded, with bridges swamped and closed to traffic. "There are no viable crossings on the South Platte," said Morgan County Undersheriff Dave Martin.