Rare summer rainstorm causes flash flood in Las Vegas Strip

09/04/2023 / By Zoey Sky

A rare summer rainstorm has caused a flash flood in Las Vegas. It flooded the Strip and damaged casinos.

The flash flood also prompted reports of several people being swept away, with some reported as missing. The storm started on the night of Aug. 23. By 10:30 p.m. that day, videos posted on social media showed that the Strip was so badly flooded that it looked like a rushing river.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) reported that it had responded to several reports of people in distress due to the heavy rainfall. The LVMPD received several reports of people caught in drainage channels during heavy rain.

The LVMPD responded to these reports to assist the Clark County Fire Department. (Related: Hurricane Ian DEVASTATES Florida; full recovery expected to take years.)

According to the Clark County Fire Department, a rescue unit assisted one man out of rapidly moving water. The man told rescuers that two other people, one man and one woman, had been swept downstream. A later report from other witnesses revealed that a third person had been seen in the water. Fire department personnel were unable to locate any of them.

The storm also damaged casinos and hotels. More videos showed a rain-soaked casino floor, which was later identified as Harrah’s Las Vegas after the storm broke through parts of the building’s ceiling. Harrah’s representatives reported that while some ceiling tiles at Harrah’s Las Vegas were damaged, the roof did not collapse. The damage only needed minor repairs.

Meteorologist: Even small amount of rain can have drastic impacts on Las Vegas’ urban desert environment

However, all the damage and flooding were caused by a surprisingly small amount of rain. Clay Morgan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Las Vegas office, said only about half an inch of rain was measured, but even that can have “drastic impacts on Las Vegas’ urban desert environment.”

The rain fell in “the most hydrophobic place imaginable,” said Morgan. This is bad because when the entirety of Las Vegas is concreted over, there’s no way for any of the water to soak into the ground. Meaning, all the water becomes runoff.

This isn’t the first time that a rainstorm has damaged Las Vegas casinos. Rain was reported inside several casinos following a major thunderstorm in August 2022. Two people had been found dead in a flood channel in Las Vegas after monsoon-triggered thunderstorms led to flash flood at the time.

The first victim was found by emergency crews in a flood channel in the area of Giles and Mandalay Bay Road. A second victim was also found in a flood channel.

At least two people have also gone missing this year after the storm that caused flooding along the Las Vegas Strip. According to storm reports from the NWS, the Clark County Fire Department responded to a call near Koval Lane and East Flamingo after a man and woman were washed away in the flood canal. First responders were able to rescue the man, but the woman was still missing.

Another report revealed that police tried to rescue another individual from floodwaters on the east side of the city near Nellis Boulevard and Sahara Avenue but were unsuccessful. The person was last reported as missing.

Go to Disaster.news for more updates on natural disasters in America and the rest of the world.

Watch the video below for footage of a recent devastating flood in Beijing.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.