3 dead in floods in Globe, Arizona, as city declares emergency
By Elise Hammond, CNN
(CNN) — Three people are dead and rescue crews in Globe, Arizona, are searching for more as devastating floods hit the area Saturday, according to Carl Melford with Gila County Emergency Services.
The city has declared a state of emergency and is asking people to stay inside due to hazardous debris. Officials are currently looking into reports of missing people but it is unclear how many are unaccounted for, Melford said.
“Historic Downtown Globe is currently unsafe, with compromised buildings as well as hazardous chemicals and debris, including propane tanks,” the city said in a post on Facebook.
About 1,000 bottles of propane were released from a facility south of the city, the city’s mayor, Al Gameros, said at an emergency city council meeting Saturday. They are scattered around the downtown area and on the highway, he said.
Melford said several of the tanks were leaking. “We did deploy hazmat teams to address those and we’ve got air quality monitors in place. It seems that situation is getting remediated,” he told CNN.
The Gila County Division of Emergency Management told residents to shelter in place as they clear the debris and watch for more rain expected in the area today.
“We ask that they not interfere with the active search and rescue operations going on. They have a grid pattern. They have a strategy. They’re trained professionals. And any people going into an area that’s being searched by dogs, the scent of that person attempting to help could actually interfere with the search,” Melford said.
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport got 1.64 inches of rain Friday, according to the National Weather Service, the most rain in one day since October 13, 2018.
Video obtained by CNN affiliate KPNX appears to show torrents of brown floodwater rushing through a street. Resident Ally Mills shared videos of the aftermath in Globe with CNN. The video shows large piles of mud and ruts in the road where drivers have driven through the area.
Jessica Weider was working at a restaurant in downtown Globe on Friday night when floodwaters swept through the city. She told CNN the flash flood lasted for about two hours. She took a video of a white car floating in the road and several vehicles in the deep water.
Gameros said “numerous vehicles” were swept into the waters, according to a Facebook post in the overnight hours on Saturday.
“Currently our local swift water teams are in the process of searching all the washes,” Gameros said in the post. The mayor declared a state of emergency and said they are in “an active emergency mode.”
The county emergency management said there is one shelter operational and more are being set up.
Globe is a city of about 7,200 people, about 90 miles east of Phoenix.
CNN’s David Williams and Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata contributed to this report, which has been updated with additional information from officials.
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