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The death toll in the epic flooding in the U.S. state of Colorado climbed to seven on Monday, as the biggest rescue operation in the country since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina continued.
The Colorado Office of Emergency Management (COEM) confirmed that four people were drowned in Boulder County, two in Larimer County and one in El Paso County, and that 18,996 homes have been damaged or destroyed by the flooding.
Five days of relentless rain caused severe runoff from the mountains into the foothills and plains of Colorado's eastern half. Monday saw scattered sunshine and residents breathe a sigh of relief.
"The worst is over ... but the destruction is absolutely mind-boggling," said Boulder resident Matt Myers.
In Larimer County, bordering the state of Wyoming to the north, about 1,000 stranded residents were airlifted to safety in the past 48 hours, according to spokesman John Schulz.
"Time is of the essence," said Rocky Mountain Incident Commander Shane Del Grosso, as three inches of rain fell on the region Sunday, with colder weather expected.
Statewide almost 1,300 residents remain "unaccounted for" although that number is dropping as more are brought to safety, according to COEM.
Airlift operations were stalled Monday morning due to foggy weather, but a rare glimpse of sunshine sent 16 helicopters by noon to rescue hundreds. Meanwhile, rescue operations on foot with dogs brought more to safety.
Thirty highway bridges were destroyed and 40 more damaged, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Several earthen dams and dozens of roads were washed away over an enormous area, larger than the state of Delaware.
"It's massive. We have hundreds of miles of road that are damaged or gone," Schulz said. "We anticipate a lengthy recovery."
"An incident of this magnitude will take months and years to recover from," echoed Del Grosso.
After calling Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday ordered extra federal aid to those impacted by the disaster in the state, according to a news release.
Sixteen transport helicopters and hundreds of emergency incident specialists were deployed to Colorado to assist in relocating more than 1,000 residents stranded without power as of Monday night.
"Many people here are calling it epic ... We've had our fires and floods, but nothing this widespread -- 1,120 square miles of the county are damaged," Schulz said.
The state's second largest school, Colorado State University, on Monday joined University of Colorado (UC) in canceling classes. UC officials say almost half of the buildings on campus have sustained water damage
Across the region, ranchers were advised to move livestock away from contaminated run-off, as floodwaters spread further east onto the eastern plains.
Authorities also warned residents to watch for rattlesnakes that might be moving to higher ground.
