Rescue Continues in Flood-Hit Colorado Town

Search and rescue efforts continue in the flood-hit mountain town of Lyons, in the US state of Colorado.

Even though the rain has finally let up, people in the town have been told to get out, in case they get stuck without power and water for weeks.

Jem Morre is a local resident, who saw the floodwater come through his town first-hand.

[Jem Morre, Flood Evacuee]:

"The river was up here where you can see the tree line, and it came up out of its banks and across this parking lot and ball field which used to be here, and was probably at least six foot deep right where we're standing running across the road." 

David Tiller is another local resident; he and his wife invested their entire savings in a plot of land with a house—in a spot that's now underwater.

[David Tiller, Flood Evacuee]:

"I'm not really sure if it's still really rooted on its base anymore. Seeing the face of the house just blown open, and realizing that was our wood stove down there in the trees, and realizing that there's nothing salvageable, nothing of the house that was salvageable—I don't even know how to describe it." 

More than two dozen Red Cross shelters have been set up across the state, but many have taken refuge in nearby towns in the homes of friends or family, while they figure out an uncertain future.

President Barack Obama has dispatched the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess the damage in Colorado, and has begun allocating funds to help the thousands of families affected.

Severe flooding caused by relentless rainfall began sweeping Colorado in mid-September, destroying hundreds of homes and washing away roads and bridges.