Hundreds Missing as Historic Floods Continue to Ravage Colorado

'This is clearly going to be a historic event,' said National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini

Continued rainfall, mud slides and flash flooding continue to batter Colorado on Sunday, leaving up to six people dead and as many as 500 missing.

Ongoing rain in the flood-ravaged state this weekend has forced more evacuations and hampered rescue efforts.

"This is a 500-to-1,000-year flood," Sean Conway, a commissioner of rural Weld County, said at a news conference.

The National Guard called Saturday's rescue efforts to save those stranded by the floods the biggest helicopter resuce effort since Hurricane Katrina.

The masive flooding prompted by record rainfall, which some have called "biblical," has swollen creeks and rivers, collapsing bridges and dams, and cutting off highways and destroying roads.

"This is clearly going to be a historic event," National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini toldClimate Central's Andrew Freedman. "The true magnitude is really just becoming obvious now."

ITN has video:

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