Death toll rises as rain continues to hamper Colorado flood rescue

The confirmed death toll from flooding triggered by a week of torrential downpours along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in Colorado increased to eight on Monday, according to the Colorado Office of Emergency Management.

The number of dead rose when an 83-year-old man was killed Monday afternoon when the ground gave way and he was swept away by the rising waters of Clear Creek, near Idaho Springs. The previous toll of seven included three dead in Boulder County, two in El Paso County, and an additional two missing and presumed dead in Larimer County.

A brief pause in the heavy rains that have pounded Colorado for days helped rescue efforts on Monday.

"We were really hampered Sunday due to weather. It appears to be lifting, so we are hoping to get a lot of boots on the ground and people in the air," Carrie Haverfield, spokeswoman for the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, told The Denver Post.

The widespread flooding and continuous storms have complicated the search for people stranded from the Rocky Mountain foothills to the plains of northeastern Colorado.

About 1,500 homes have been destroyed and another 17,500 damaged from the storm, according to an initial estimate released by the Colorado Office of Emergency Management on its website.

In addition, 11,700 people have left their homes, and a total of 1,253 people have not been heard from, state emergency officials said.

PHOTO GALLERY: IMAGES FROM BOULDER COUNTY

President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration on Saturday and ordered federal aid for the state.

Despite 1,750 people having already been rescued from communities and homes swamped by overflowing rivers and streams, numerous pockets of remain cut off from help, officials said.

Al Jazeera and wire services