Heavy rains turn streets into rivers, strand motorists

Heavy rains pounded the Las Vegas Valley Thursday, turning streets into rivers, stranding motorists on top of their cars and exhausting the city's emergency services.

"This is the worst flood in Las Vegas since at least 1984," said Ron McQueen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Two deaths were blamed on the weather. A man's body was recovered from a wash area Thursday afternoon, and a woman was killed in a traffic accident, police and fire officials said.

By early afternoon, parts of the valley had received up to 3 inches of rain and more was expected throughout the day, McQueen said. The average annual rainfall in the Las Vegas Valley is 4.1 inches. A flash flood warning was issued for the area.

Motorists were plucked from flooded vehicles by roaming fire trucks and, in at least one case, a police helicopter.

The severe flooding turned sections of busy Interstate 15 into a lake, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Tourists seeking shelter from the rains poured into the Strip casinos. No casinos reported any major damage.

"The Strip is a lake, up over the curbs, into our fountains," said Phil Cooper, spokesman for Caesars Palace hotel-casino. "I've been here 10 years and it's the worst I've ever seen."

Caesars was forced to close part of its casino and the Forum Shops because of the flooding, Cooper said.

Flights at McCarran International Airport were shut down for 45 minutes, airport spokeswoman Cynthia Markson said. Two planes scheduled to land in Las Vegas had to be diverted to Los Angeles, she said.

Intersections across town were closed as the rising waters swallowed vehicles. Several motorists were stranded on top of their cars and had to be rescued by firefighters as their trucks made their way along the flooded streets, picking up stranded motorists one by one.

"This is as serious as it gets," said Clark County Fire Department spokesman Steve La-Sky. "Our emergency dispatch switchboard is lit up."

The heavy rains caused a ceiling to cave in at a Lucky's grocery store on the city's southwest side and numerous businesses and homes had leaky roofs.

The heaviest hit areas were in the southwest and west parts of the valley.

Firefighters were trying to contain mudslides and boulder slides along the Summerlin Parkway in the northwest part of the valley, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Scott Flabi said.

"It's a nightmare. It's one of the worst things I've ever seen," he said.

Several mobile homes were in danger of being washed downstream as the waters pushed through the southeast part of the city. A storage shed at the mobile home park was swept away, and residents watched as their homes dangled in the water.

McQueen said the flooding was caused by a rich moisture flow out of northern Mexico and the gulf of California.

The rain was expected to continue throughout the day.

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