A historic storm has caused deadly flooding across Arizona, killing two people, forcing evacuations and sending the Salt River surging through the Phoenix area.
The rain fell over the weekend, from Friday to Sunday, and dropped months’ worth of rain on parts of the Southwest. By Tuesday, the rain had mostly stopped around Phoenix, but river flooding was still going on because of water released from dams upstream.
What happened
A strong atmospheric river brought heavy rain to Arizona and the nearby states. The ground was already wet from weeks of storms, so almost all the new rain turned into runoff and flash flooding.
More than 10 rivers, creeks and washes in Arizona and southwest Colorado rose past major flood stage, and some hit record highs. Scottsdale received 4.25 inches of rain, Wittmann 3.43 inches and Cave Creek 2.83 inches. Tucson had its wettest first two days of November since records began in 1894.
Two deaths in Flagstaff
In Flagstaff, two men died in floodwaters. A 73-year-old man was found dead early on Monday morning after reportedly falling into floodwater on Sunday evening. A second man was found dead on Monday morning in a stormwater drainage area.
Governor Katie Hobbs declared a statewide state of emergency on Monday to free up resources to help residents and repair infrastructure.
Salt River surges through Phoenix
Water roared down the normally dry Salt River through metro Phoenix on Tuesday. The Salt River Project released the most water from its Verde River dams in more than three decades.
Releases from Bartlett and Stewart Mountain dams reached about 54,000 cubic feet per second and were likely to exceed 60,000. Releases over Granite Reef Dam topped 55,000 cubic feet per second early on Tuesday, the highest since spring 2023.
The National Weather Service in Phoenix extended a flood warning for the Salt and Gila rivers until 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 7. A gauge below the Salt-Gila confluence measured flows of more than 61,000 cubic feet per second, affecting areas including Goodyear and Arlington. Officials said high flows could last up to two weeks.
Roads closed and warnings in place
In Sedona, Oak Creek rose to 15.06 feet, above its 14-foot flood stage, and crews used boats and helicopters to rescue about 40 people from their homes. State Route 89A through Oak Creek Canyon is closed after floodwaters pushed boulders and debris onto the road and washed out sections of pavement. Sections of I-40 around Flagstaff were also closed.
In northeastern Arizona, flood-damaged roads kept hundreds of people in the Native American community of Rock Point from reaching polling places on Tuesday.
Officials urged people to stay out of washes, rivers and closed roads, and never to drive into flooded roads. The same storm later moved east and soaked the central United States on Election Day.
Read more of our Trend & Society coverage, and see how Cyclone Arnab Hits India’s East Coast: Over 180,000 Evacuated as Storm Weakens.
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