Creek Claims 8th Victim in Colo. as Rain Finally Tapers

The Colorado floods have now killed eight people, and at least 648 more are still unaccounted for, NBC News reports. The latest death was an 83-year-old man who was swept three miles downstream when the ground collapsed underneath him in the town of Idaho Springs yesterday afternoon, the Denver Post reports. One pocket of good news: Yesterday's improved weather allowed for more rescues, with helicopters evacuating at least 250 people from areas in Larimer County that had been cut off by the flood, the Post reports. And the National Weather Service is forecasting no more rain this week, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The worst is over," says an National Weather Service employee.

• With at least 1,500 homes destroyed and nearly 18,000 more damaged—numbers which are expected to rise—this bit of news is particularly distressing: USA Today reports that only 22,000 homes and businesses have flood insurance, according to FEMA, meaning thousands of homeowners lack coverage. One expert estimates that just 10% to 25% of people in areas at high risk of flood are covered.
• Colorado's richest oil field is currently underwater, and thousands of wells and operating sites have been hit by the floods, leading to concerns about environmental contamination. "The scale is unprecedented," the executive director of the state's Department of Natural Resources tells the Denver Post. Adds a former BP chemist, "To have something this inland, this level of flooding in an area with high oil and gas development, it's new territory."

(More Colorado stories.)