WORLD
Rain hinders hunt for 500 missing in Colorado floods
Baku, September 16 (AZERTAC). Torrential rain grounded helicopters in the US state of Colorado, slowing the search for up to 500 people unaccounted for after several days of massive flooding.
Officials suggested many of the victims may simply not be able to call loved ones because of damage to cell phone towers or power outages.
“But we`re still bracing,” Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper told CNN. “There are many, many homes that have been destroyed. A number have collapsed and we haven`t been in them yet.”
Hickenlooper put the number unaccounted for state-wide at 500, but Boulder Sheriff Joe Pelle, in the hardest-hit region, said the numbers were changing rapidly: by mid-afternoon it had been cut to 326, from 431 earlier.
It was unclear if those figures included people still missing in other parts of the state.
“Finding the people who are unaccounted for is one of the highest priorities, and five teams of Boulder County Sheriff`s Office detectives are dedicated full-time to this task,” said Pelle, in an afternoon update posted by the Boulder Office of Emergency Management.
Thousands have been evacuated after torrential downpours washed away roads and inundated communities, claiming at least six lives.
Brigadier General Peter Byrne and his assigned forces of almost 560 Colorado and Wyoming National Guardsmen have evacuated more than 2,100 people, Pentagon spokesman George Little said.
Active duty forces are also engaged in flood relief efforts under direction of US Northern Command, while seven helicopters from the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson have aided search-and-rescue operations.
President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in Colorado and ordered federal aid to support state and local efforts.