A fifth person is feared dead and more than 200 unaccounted for after flash floods hit the American state of Colorado.
As rescue teams attempt to help those trapped, entire neighbourhoods have been washed away.
ITV News’ Ben Chapman reports:
Rescuers issued a stern warning to anyone thinking of staying behind, after flash floods hit Colorado. Authorities warned to "leave now" or be prepared to endure weeks without electricity, running water and basic supplies.
"We're not trying to force anyone from their home. We're not trying to be forceful, but we're trying to be very factual and definitive about the consequences of their decision, and we hope that they will come down," Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
A fifth person is feared dead and around 200 people are unaccounted for following severe flooding in Colorado.
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said: "We have received a report of a 60-year-old woman from the Cedar Grove area that is missing and presumed dead as the house was destroyed by flood waters."
At least four people have been killed and 172 were still unaccounted for in Colorado as rescue workers battle to reach residents cut off by flooding.
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said, "Those people are unaccounted for, they're not necessarily missing - these are people that friends or family cannot get a hold of."
He expected the number of deaths to be significantly less than 172.
The rescue of hundreds of people stranded by epic mountain flooding in Colorado has accelerated as debris-filled rivers became muddy seas that extended into towns and farms miles from the Rockies.
Helicopters and hundreds of National Guard troops continue to search miles of mountainous terrain as food and water supplies ran low in remote communities cut off since Thursday.
Colorado is braced for more heavy rain as rescue workers battle to help stranded residents cut off by the worst flooding in decades.
Search and rescue teams are using boats and helicopters to pull stranded residents to safety in areas where flash floods toppled buildings, washed out roads and farmland.
Boulder and a string of other towns along the Front Range of the Rockies north of Denver were especially hard hit as water poured down rain-soaked mountains and spilled through canyons into populated areas.
At least four people have been killed and 172 are unaccounted for.
The National Guard worked to rescue an entire town of some 1,600 people today after they were cut off by raging floodwaters in the US state of Colorado on Thursday.
High-clearance vehicles drove truckloads of residents through waters up to a metre (3 feet) deep out of the remote town of Lyons.
At least three people have died and extensive damage has been done to homes, bridges and roads by the worst flooding Colorado has seen in over three decades.
The flooding was triggered by unusually intense late-summer storms stretching 130 miles (210 km) along the eastern slopes of the Rockies from Fort Collins south through Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs.
President Obama declared a state of emergency in Colorado after flash floods forced thousands to flee.
The state has seen an unprecedented nine inches of rain fall over 24 hours and rescuers are struggling to reaches dozens cut off in mountain communities.
Sascha Williams reports:
Flash flooding that left at least three dead and one missing in Colorado worsened as torrential rain continued to pound the state.
Thousands have been forced to flee to higher ground as rising water toppled buildings, stranded motorists, cut off remote towns and forced the state's largest university to close.
A man trapped in a car submerged in flood waters that have swept through Colorado, US, was rescued by emergency services.
Heavy rain has battered the American state, with 10 inches of rain falling on central Colorado, leaving three people dead and forcing the evacuation of hundreds.
Another spate of downpours is expected to hit this weekend, with weather forecasters predicting between six to 10 inches of rain to fall.
