Record-breaking rainfall in the Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson areas caused extreme flooding and killed at least two people in southern Arizona on Monday. The intense flooding is believed to have been made worse by the region's drought conditions.
There was also "life threatening" flooding reported in Moapa, about 45 miles northeast of Las Vegas, the Weather Channel reported. The dam in the community was inches away from being compromised Monday afternoon, but the water levels receded that evening.
A woman died after her car was swept away and got trapped against a Tucson bridge and a 76-year-old woman drowned as her husband attempted to drive across a flooded region in Pinal County south of Phoenix, the Associated Press reported.
The heavy rains were a result of Hurricane Norbert, which moved Southwest through the desert. The rainfall caused 190 people from a Native American reservation about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas to be evacuated after more than four inches of rain pummeled the area and the Virgin River came close to flooding.
Rescue crews responded to more than 40 flood-related calls involving stranded cars during the morning commute in La Quinta and Indian Wells areas near Palm Springs.
Crews were working into Monday night to disconnect power from submerged transformers, place sand bags, and pump water from flooding areas and homes in Phoenix. The effects of the flood are expected to last through tonight.
The state of California has been in a state of drought since April, and at least 94 percent of the state has been in drought since as far back as May 2013, the Weather Channel reported. The Inland Empire region of western Riverside and southwestern San Bernardino counties are considered to be in a level-3 "extreme" drought, which is the second highest possible category. The drought is believed to have exacerbated the flooding because it stripped away vegetation that would usually trap or slow down rainwater, Reuters reported.
Despite the damage and loss of life from the flooding, some California residents were just happy to see some rain.
"It was wonderful," resident Malina Hernandez told the Weather Channel . "It was like wow, this is how it should be. Pouring, windy, raining. Just pouring down."
Others were not as thrilled, especially those working in rescue services.
"This is the worst thing in the world for us. We talk all summer really about the dangers of washes," Tucson Fire Department spokesman Barrett Baker, who worked to rescue the woman who was found dead after her car was washed two block, toldthe AP.
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