AlQa'dah 8, 1434, Sep 14, 2013, SPA -- By air and by land, the rescue of hundreds of Coloradoans stranded by epic mountain flooding accelerated Saturday as debris-filled rivers became muddy seas that extended into towns and farms miles from the Rockies, AP reported. Helicopters and hundreds of National Guard troops searched miles of mountainous terrain for people as food and water supplies ran low in remote communities cut off since Thursday. Thousands were being driven from their homes in convoys. For the first time since the harrowing floods began Wednesday, Colorado got its first broad view of the devastation. Floodwaters have affected parts of a 4,500-square-mile (11,655-square-kilometer) area - an area the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. A woman was missing and presumed dead after witnesses saw floodwaters from the Big Thompson River destroy her home in the Cedar Cove area, Larimer County sheriff's spokesman John Schulz said. Four people have been confirmed dead since the harrowing floods began Wednesday. More than 170 people remained unaccounted for in Boulder County, but that number could include people who are still stranded or who escaped but have not made contact yet, said Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle. National Guard helicopters flew in and out of the mountain hamlet of Jamestown late into Friday night after the village became isolated by rushing water that scoured the canyon the town sits in. The choppers were evacuating nearly 300 people and their pets. Rescuers were also concentrating on the town of Lyons, a gateway community to Rocky Mountain National Park, where the Guard had evacuated nearly 800 of the town's 2,500 residents by ground by Saturday morning. More than a dozen helicopters were available to aid with rescue efforts. -- SPA 21:01 LOCAL TIME 18:01 GMT تغريد
