Drought? Rain never seen in the arid and very hot Death Valley
Due to the catastrophic rains and record floods on Friday (August 5), Death Valley National Park was forced to shut down completely, trapping around 1,000 people (500 visitors and 500 staff) inside. An incredible case, apparently, in the hottest and driest place in the world.
ATTN DRIVERS: Our partners at @DeathValleyNPS have provided an update on the status of the park:
– All roads into and out of the park are closed and will remain closed until park staff can assess the extensiveness of the situation.
Credit: Death Valley National Park pic.twitter.com/5y5zgqgOjA
– Caltrans District 9 (@ Caltrans9) August 5, 2022
The park experienced "unprecedented amounts of rain" of 1.46 inches, 37 mm, which caused substantial flooding that engulfed the cars, leaving at least 60 vehicles buried in mud and debris.
This amount of rain represents nearly 75% of the total annual rainfall for the area, which sees an average of 2 inches of rainfall per year.
“Whole trees and boulders were blown away,” said John Sirlin, a photographer.
Sirlin shared videos and images on social media that showed fast-moving water, uprooted palm trees, and cars wedged into a pile of debris.
Major flash flooding in Death Valley National Park this morning. Approximately two dozen vehicles trapped in mud and rock debris at the Inn at Death Valley. Took nearly 6 hours to get out. #cawx #stormhour pic.twitter.com/3rDFUgY7ws
– John Sirlin (@SirlinJohn) August 5, 2022
“It was more extreme than anything I've ever seen there,” Sirlin said.
“I've never seen whole trees and boulders blown away. The sound of some rocks coming down from the mountain was truly incredible, ”he said during a telephone interview.
“There have been at least two dozen cars that have been destroyed and blocked in there,” explained Sirlin.
During the storm, "the floodwaters pushed the trash cans against the parked cars, which collided with each other". In addition, many facilities have been flooded, including hotel rooms and commercial offices, ”according to the park statement. Fortunately there were no injuries, also because, apart from the guards and visitors, the park has no inhabitants: it is an incredibly hostile environment to life due to the aridity, the presence of strongly brackish water and the heat.
Friday's flood in Death Valley National Park came a week after monsoon showers flooded the typically dry area of Las Vegas Strip, submerging casino floors and uprooting countless trees.
Las Vegas is also an extremely arid area …
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The article Drought? Rain never seen in the arid and very hot Death Valley comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/siccita-piogge-mai-viste-nellarida-e-caldissima-death-valley/ on Sun, 07 Aug 2022 17:56:50 +0000.