If you haven't been directly impacted by the recent flooding, you probably know someone who has. After over 18 inches of rain in some areas, and rivers rising up to seven inches every 15 minutes in others, things are looking grim in Colorado.

However as with every almost every disaster situation, heroes in our community and beyond have stepped up to lend a helping hand; the Colorado floods are no exception. The brave men and women of the Colorado National Guard arrived on the scene to help rescue those trapped and assist people who have been misplaced. They released some of their pictures; we've chosen a few and featured them below along with rescuce stories for you to take a look at...


 

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A group of students was airlifted from their school in Boulder after some of the flooding. You can read more about that here.


 

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"In Boulder Laura and Marty Kholmes were awakened by crashing mud against their home Wednesday. They heard a car-horn outside. They looked, and saw a vehicle being swept away with four teenagers inside. Sadly two were among those killed. But Kholmes was among a group of people able to rescue one of them. In a remarkable twist hours later, Laura - expecting her first baby - went into labor... Emergency crews arrived and transported her to a hospital. Baby Ingrid was born shortly after."

- Leanne Gregg, NBC News.


 

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Above: Highway 34 is overwhelmed by the flooding. Rescue teams have been using a back maintenance road as their main route. Read more about it and see pictures here.


 

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According to Fox News, "the flooding has impacted parts of 15 counties in Colorado. Emergency management officials said 17,494 homes were damaged, 1,502 homes were destroyed and 11,700 people were ordered evacuated."


 

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It seems not even the National Guard can plan everything perfectly. According to CNN, "Fifteen Colorado National Guard members and other emergency workers were stranded Monday on high ground after rising floodwaters the day before forced them to abandon efforts to evacuate residents from flooded areas near Lyons, a National Guard spokeswoman said."


 

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According to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, over 700 people have been air-lifted to safety in the evacuation. This is the largest air-rescue operation since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In Jamestown alone, over 200 people were airlifted.


 

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Above: U.S. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment out of Fort Carson, Colo., along with civilian rescue personnel, rescue members of the Jametown, Colo., community and children from Cal-Wood Education Center after severe flooding shut down major roads leading out of town Sept. 14, 2013.


 

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Above: United States Representative Jared Polis, talks with two stranded citizens who were spotted by the pilot along Highway 34, along the Big Thompson River, during a senior leadership overflight of the flooded areas in northern Colorado Sept. 14, 2013.

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