2022 Flooding

[Diggin It]

So far, I've seen Las Vegas, Flagstaff three times, St. Louis got hit twice in a week, then eastern Kentucky and W. Virginia got hit maybe the worst of all.

Probably a lot of other areas to lesser degrees that haven't made national news.

 

[Ken45101]

Vegas doesn't require much water to flood, the ground doesn't absorb rain, nor hold it back. Years ago I toured Death Valley and was greeted with signs "road under water" on the main highway. It was difficult to reconcile "desert" and "road under water".

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I was horrified by the death toll in Kentucky. Apparently the water rose in the night while people were sleeping, by the time they woke up there was no way to get out. 26 people and counting. I can't imagine the terror of awakening to that, even for the survivors.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The death toll is up to 30 as of this morning, including four children, and will probably go higher.

 

[Torvy]

Vegas doesn't require much water to flood, the ground doesn't absorb rain, nor hold it back. Years ago I toured Death Valley and was greeted with signs "road under water" on the main highway. It was difficult to reconcile "desert" and "road under water".

Truth. Lived there for 7 years. A light rain makes the roads slick like they are icy because of buildup of oils. Add water and it gets dangerous. The desert likes to shed 90% of the rain to somewhere else. Vegas is also surrounded by mountains, so a good deal of the rain that falls there comes down rapidly and into the Las Vegas valley, too.

I suppose the good news is that if Vegas is getting rain, Lake Mead should be getting rain, too. Too bad they cannot close the exit until the lake fills back up.

 

[ruffdog]

Good video of the aftermath in KY:

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I wouldn't want to eat fish out of that creek for a while. The thing I missed in that video was the sound of chainsaws. There won't be any shortage of firewood for a while.

 

[Diggin It]

How does Death Valley flood?



National Park Service via AP

Weather​

Flash floods turn Death Valley muddy, stranding hundreds of visitors​

Record rainfall trigged flash floods at Death Valley National Park that swept away cars, closed all roads and stranded hundreds of visitors and workers.







I passed through part of that area on I-40 years back and all I remember is flat, flat, flat ....

 

[ruffdog]

Hard to get to high ground when there is no high ground.

 

[ruffdog]

 

[Oaktree]

I was horrified by the death toll in Kentucky. Apparently the water rose in the night while people were sleeping, by the time they woke up there was no way to get out. 26 people and counting. I can't imagine the terror of awakening to that, even for the survivors.

Agreed. Trouble is, due to the terrain there isn't much of anywhere to go, easy to get trapped in some of those hollows/valleys.