Arizona flooding creates several dramatic scenes
PHOENIX (AP) — A series of storms dumped more than 4.5 inches of rain on areas north of Phoenix on Tuesday, requiring several dramatic rescues and resulting in many visible examples of damage. Here are some examples of the destruction brought on by the floodwaters:
HOUSE RESCUE
As violent floodwaters submerged a house in New River, two women became trapped with nowhere to go, the home apparently knocked from its foundation. They called for help, and one of them waved a white piece of fabric out a window. The Phoenix Fire Department sent a helicopter and hoisted two rescuers onto the roof to guide the residents to safety. Also saved were three dogs in the house.
In this image made from a video provided by ABC15 TV, a rescue worker from a helicopter reaches down to residents of a flooded house in New River, Ariz., north of Phoenix, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. The area was flooded after several inches of rain pummeled the state. (AP Photo/ABC15 TV)
WOMAN IN MINIVAN:
A minivan was swamped by rising floodwaters with an older woman inside the vehicle. A rescuer waded through the water, broke out the front driver's side window and entered the white van. He grabbed the woman and helped escort her to dry land. Two rescuers carried her to a nearby garage and sat her down in a lawn chair.
WATER ON INTERSTATE
Interstate 17 became the sight of a surreal image as the brown water from the flood washed over the state's major north-south freeway. Some cars drove through the rising waters, others were forced into the left lane, and portions of the highway were temporarily closed.
CACTUS FARM
The Cox Cactus Farm was inundated by a creek that runs through its property, forcing workers into an all-out effort to save the company's more than 600 varieties of plants, cactuses and shrubs. In the end, hundreds of cactuses and plants washed away in the torrential flood.
TUCSON RESCUE
Firefighters in Tucson rescued a woman who was stranded in her car. A video by the Tucson Fire Department showed a rescuer climbing an extended ladder to reach the woman, who was driving a four-door sedan. The firefighter gave the woman a life vest before helping her climb out of the car and onto the ladder.
In this image made from a video provided by ABC15 TV, two unidentified women and a dog stand with rescuers after being pulled from a flooded house in New River, Ariz., north of Phoenix, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. The area was flooded after several inches of rain pummeled the state. (AP Photo/ABC15 TV)
Vehicle traverse a flooded Tatum Blvd. north of Pinncle Peak Road Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in Phoenix. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for much of the Phoenixtro area and north of the city where up to 8 inches of rain fell by midday in some of the mountainous regions along the interstate. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher) MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALES
Damaged vehicles and trailers are seen in an area where flash flood waters that overran Skunk Creek, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in New River, Ariz., just northwest of Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
A mobile home sits ravaged in an area where flash flood waters overran Skunk Creek, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in New River, Ariz., just northwest of Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Flash flood waters from the overrun Skunk Creek flood I-10, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in northwestern Phoenix. Flooding from heavy rain in the Phoenix area has forced authorities to close several major roads, including a portion of Interstate 17 about 25 miles north of the city. (AP Photo/Matt York)
In this image made from a video provided by ABC15 TV, a school bus navigates a flooded road north of Phoenix, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. It was not known if there were children aboard the bus at the time. The area was flooded after several inches of rain pummeled the state. (AP Photo/ABC15 TV)
Vehicles drive through flooded streets as strong storms moved through the Phoenix metro area on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Thomas Ingersoll and Sydney Cisco watch flash flood waters from the Sonoran Desert overrun Skunk Creek, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in northwestern Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Flash flood waters from Skunk Creek overrun a road through the Sonoran Desert, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in northwestern Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Flash flood waters from the overrun Skunk Creek flood I-10, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, in northwestern Phoenix. Flooding from heavy rain in the Phoenix area has forced authorities to close several major roads, including a portion of Interstate 17 about 25 miles north of the city. (AP Photo/Matt York)
