Flooding in southwest Las Vegas Valley closes road
Police closed several roads in the southern Las Vegas Valley on Monday afternoon after thunderstorms dropped heavy rainfall in the area.
Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Larry Hadfield said West Silverado Ranch Boulevard was closed in both directions at Dean Martin Drive roughly to Decatur Boulevard just prior to 3 p.m. Police put up barricades to prevent traffic from going through the area, but some trucks and cars still found a way on the road and drove through floodwaters.
The Regional Transportation Commission said just before 4 p.m. that there was “hazard flooding” in the area of Rainbow Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road. Large traffic backups were observed in the westbound lanes of Blue Diamond.
Flooded roadways were particularly bad in partially developed neighborhoods off Blue Diamond. Claudia Kintigh, who lives in the area of Pebble Road and South Buffalo Drive, said rains swept through the area and swamped Buffalo at Raven Avenue. A large, deep pool of floodwater had accumulated on Buffalo.
“I’ve been standing out here for about an hour and a half warning everybody… I saved probably 30 cars from getting stuck,” Kintigh said.
One motorist either did not understand or ignored Kintigh’s warnings to drivers to avoid the water on Buffalo. The motorist drove into the waters and their vehicle stopped running, prompting assistance to the stranded driver from Las Vegas officers at the scene.
“It is deceptive,” Kintigh said of how deep the floodwaters were. “It’s a two-foot drop.”
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.