At least four people are dead after torrential rainfall and flooding in Arizona that officials described Saturday as catastrophic.
Three of the deaths were in the small community of Globe, Gila County emergency manager Carl Medford told NBC News.
Additional details about the deaths were not immediately available. Medford said that search-and-rescue teams were still looking for people.
Authorities in Scottsdale said they recovered the body of a man near a vehicle that had been submerged in floodwaters. A spokesperson for the city’s police department identified him Saturday as Ander Polanco, 38.
Polanco’s family had reported him missing Friday, the police department said in a statement. His body was found Saturday morning after the waters receded.
The National Weather Service said that between 1 and 2 inches of rain fell across much of the metropolitan Phoenix area Friday. The city’s airport recorded 1.6 inches — the highest single-day total in seven years, the agency said.
Video from the community of Miami, east of Phoenix, showed what appeared to be large hail and a road submerged in raging floodwaters. The weather service said that hail larger than an inch was seen across the region.
Other video showed self-driving vehicles apparently stuck in floodwaters at Phoenix’s airport.
Officials in the nearby community of Globe declared a state of emergency during a council meeting Saturday. Council members described the damage as devastating.
“This is something that we could never even imagine, and here we are living it,” council member Freddy Rios said.
Rios said the extent of the damage was unclear. In a statement earlier, the city said its historic downtown was unsafe, with compromised buildings and hazardous chemicals and debris, including propane tanks.
Another council member, Mike Stapleton, described residents who were trapped and climbing on roofs. He said he heard an account of a pregnant woman swimming out of a flooded restaurant.
The post Torrential flooding in Arizona leaves at least 4 dead appeared first on NBC News.
