Saturday, August 10, 2013

Top Stories - Google News: 1 Killed and 3 Missing After Colo. Mudslide - ABC News

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1 Killed and 3 Missing After Colo. Mudslide - ABC News
Aug 10th 2013, 23:39

One man was killed and another three people are missing after flash floods and a mudslide swept through Manitou Springs, Colo., on Friday night.

The body of John Collins, 53, was found buried under a large amount of debris along highway 24 in Manitou Springs. His vehicle was found further down the road, police said.

The cause of Collins' death is believed to be drowning, according to the El Paso County Coroner's Office.

Three other people are still missing, including 24-year-old Justin Travis, a man identified by his neighbors as Steve and a petite blonde woman who was seen clinging to a tree.

"She was seen near the creek at one moment hanging in a tree and then not seen the next," Manitou Springs Police Chief Joe Ribeiro said.

Video and photos of the town on Saturday morning show streets caked in mud with cars strewn haphazardly through the town. More rain is expected in the area Saturday night.

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"Some folks have lost their homes," said Ribeiro. "There's been some total destruction on a few homes and some significant damage to others."

Wall of Mud Washes Car Away There is currently no estimate of the damage to the homes in the area. Manitou Springs Mayor Marc Snyder, told ABCNews.com affiliate KMGH-TV the city "remains open for business," inviting people to come up Saturday and Sunday.

Snyder said 90 percent of businesses in the city are unaffected by the flood. However for those affected, the flooding will cause lasting problems.

"We're looking at complete destruction in our lower level," Steve Kudron, owner of Quacker Gift Shop, told KMGH-TV. "It was a shock this morning coming. We had no idea it would be this bad."

The National Weather Service said that about 1.3 inches of rain fell in the area affected by the Waldo Canyon wildfire in 2012, which is more vulnerable to flash floods. Land burned by wildfires is more vulnerable to flash floods because the scorched soil does not absorb as much water.

Friday's flood was the fourth flash flood to hit the area since the Waldo Canyon wildfire, which burned more than 18,000 acres and killed two people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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