Flash flood season brings warnings

Tuesday, July 15, 1997 | 9:08 a.m.

With flash flood season upon us, Clark County officials are warning that people can either respect the power of summer thunderstorms or risk death.

People need to respect urban streets that turn to raging torrents, Gale Fraser, general manager and chief engineer of the Regional Flood Control District, said Monday.

"If they don't stay high and if they don't stay dry, they can die," he said.

In 1984, seven people died and public property damages reached $9 million from summer thunderstorms and flooding, he said. The population in the Las Vegas Valley was half of what it is now.

"Flooding is a natural event, like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes," Fraser said. "People have to be aware of it."

The district's board declared July, August and September as the season for flash flood awareness. This is the period when sudden thunderstorms are most likely to sweep across the valley, flooding streets, homes and businesses.

County Commissioner Lance Malone, chairman of the flood control district, said flash floods can happen at any time. But in summer months, the hard desert soil and surrounding steep mountain slopes combined with sudden, intense thundershowers can create disaster in moments.

A fierce storm struck Las Vegas in September 1961, leaving nine dead and the valley without power for more than a week.

Flood control officials said while $288 million in flood control projects have been built since May 1987, people should still pay attention to the weather.

A plan for $412 million in flood control projects has been approved for the next 10 years. The county's master plan calls for an ultimate investment of $1.3 billion in flood control facilities, including $1.2 billion in the Las Vegas Valley.

Adults and children should stay out of natural washes and channels in wet or dry weather, because floodwaters can sweep down from the mountains and inundate the bone-dry ravines.

If the National Weather Service issues flash-flood warnings or watches, stay alert and pay attention to conditions in the valley, officials advise.