El Paso County residents facing brunt of flood damage with no state or federal assistance likely

PEYTON, Colo. (KRDO) - Ericka List is one of many El Paso County residents who is still dealing with the aftermath of the slew of storms throughout June.

"It was absolutely the most insane thing I've seen here in Colorado.  I have never seen water come down like that,  um, that fast and that hard and do that much damage in such a short period of time," said List.

Brackett Creek, which is usually dry, turned into a raging river thanks to rainfall.

"In the driveway was just a river, and before everything caved in, it was coming down in just sheets and it was pouring down all the way down the driveway."

It wasn't until a few days ago that List could stop using a kayak to get to the other half of her driveway - which added an extra ten minutes to her commute.

But for List and many others in El Paso County, it's likely they won't get a dime of federal assistance. Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state officials toured county facilities to discuss potential relief.

But that funding would only be for public assistance funding - for parks, roads, and other government infrastructure, leaving people like List without many options.

"There is no process right now for individuals in Colorado who have been impacted by these storms to apply for federal disaster assistance," explained Lynn Kimbrough, a FEMA External Affairs Specialist.

She added that Coloradans have rarely been eligible for individual federal disaster relief money.

Now, List and her neighbors are worried that if insurance doesn't come through - it won't get cleaned up.

"I can't afford to hire somebody to fix it, as goes for most of the people in this neighborhood. So it's going to be simply what can we accomplish with the tractor"

To report uninsured damages to the county, you can do so by filling out this form online, to help the Office of Emergency Management gather the information they need.