DENVER (CNS) — Colorado Gov. John W. Hickenlooper declared a state of disaster emergency in response to massive flooding across 15 counties, from south of Colorado Springs to the Wyoming border, caused by several days of heavy rain fall that began Sept. 11.
As of late afternoon Sept. 16, authorities confirmed that at least eight people have died in the disaster and about 600 people remained unaccounted for in the flood zone, which an AP story described as covering “an area nearly the size of Connecticut.” Flooding along the Front Range was moving east across the prairie to Sterling, about 128 miles northeast of Denver.
With Hickenlooper’s declaration, the state began making resources available to search and rescue flood victims, help flood survivors, provide emergency services and begin help to assist with flood recovery. On the federal level, President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration and ordered federal aid for Colorado. Obama also was sending the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the state.
