Flash Flooding In Las Vegas

Torrential rains produced severe and unprecedented flash flooding across the Las Vegas valley on July 8, 1999. Much of the Las Vegas valley experienced from 35%-70% of its annual rainfall(4.13 inches) over the course of 60-90 minutes. The resulting runoff from these rains caused widespread street flooding and record flows in normally dry washes and flood control detention basins. The floods caused over $20,000,000 in property damage and took 2 lives. Flash floods are not unusual in the Las …

…valley, it will remain vulnerable to flash flooding through the future. More and more people will become susceptible to these floods as the Las Vegas valley continued to grow at a rate of 5000-6000 people per month. Although no amount of prevention can spare everyone from the effects of such floods, these effects can be reduced through the continued work and intervention of the Clark County Regional Flood Control District and The National Weather Service.