Hildale Flooding incident 09.14-15.2015
The Utah Division of Emergency Management has learned of a flood that happened around 5 p.m. in Hildale, Washington County.
DEM Liaison Scott Alvord is in Hildale to support city and county officials.
No state assistance has been requested. This is for information purposes only, but this document will be updated below as information becomes available.
The following information comes from Washington County Emergency Services:
At approx. 5:00 PM heavy rains caused flash flooding in the Hildale area. The flooding caused extensive damage and several vehicles were washed downstream. In the flash flooding two occupied vehicles were hit by a large wall of water and debris at the Canyon Street Maxwell Crossing and were carried into the Flood.
There were 16 people with the vehicles who were washed downstream by the flooding. At this time there are Six confirmed deceased, three surviving victims, one was transported to DRMC for treatment, and seven people are still missing at this time.
Emergency responders from Hildale, Colorado City, Hurricane, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue, Mohave County, and Apple Valley are continuing to search for the missing. The Public Information is being handled by Hildale Officials and information will be shared by Emergency Services as it becomes available. Media inquiries should contact (435) 874-3115
Many streets were heavily flooding and there is a lot of mud, sand, boulders, and debris on those streets. Multiple homes are without power and water due to infrastructure damage. Additional persons were rescued by emergency responders during the event.
Officials are asking the public to stay away from the Hildale area to allow responders to work unimpeded.
Update as of 10:45 p.m.
Officials report the location of one additional deceased victim at this time, bringing the total number of fatalities to seven. The search is currently being scaled back due to safety concerns. Full scale search efforts will resume at 7:00 AM tomorrow. Additional updates will be posted on the hour as they become available.
Update as of 12:55 a.m. (Tuesday, Sept. 15)
An additional victim has been located below the Central Street crossing bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 8. There are still 5 unaccounted for. Work continues.
Update as of 6:10 a.m.
Fire and public works crews worked through the night monitoring flood crossings and searching the banks of Short Creek.
A large contingent of contractors, using heavy equipment, are working to clear thousands of tons of mud and debris from the Central Street creek crossing.
Rain continued throughout the night – flooding has continued and all crossings remain closed.
One survivor remained hospitalized over night. There are eight confirmed dead, and five still missing. Six of the deceased were located in Utah and two in Arizona, almost 2 1/2 miles down stream.
The search effort will continue and resources will be increased this morning, weather permitting.
Update as of noon
Search teams are continuing to search the banks of Short Creek. No additional victims have been located.
The creek is still running high and the area is unstable with large volumes of mud and debris. Please stay away from the area and allow searchers to continue their efforts.
A press conference is being scheduled for 12:30 PM at the City Hall at 25 South Central Street in Colorado City.
Update as of 1:30 p.m.
Hildale officials issued a disaster declaration at 11:43 AM. Urban Search and Rescue elements, National Guard and incident management assistance has been requested from the Utah State Division of Emergency Management.
An additional victim has been located bringing the total confirmed fatalities as nine. The search is continuing.
All information is considered preliminary and is expected to change.
Information about the flood is being posted by local news media and emergency responders to social media. Use the hashtags #HildaleFlood and #utflood to follow that information. If you don’t have a Twitter account, it’s OK. Simply go to Twitter.com and paste the entire phrase #HildaleFlood or #utflood into the search bar.
Information from the local media is found at the following locations
- DEM is posting information from Washington County Emergency Services here.
- local news websites
Preparedness information for all hazards is always available at BeReadyUtah.gov
— By Joe Dougherty
Public information officer
jdougherty@utah.gov
If you found this news entry interesting, please consider sharing it through your social network.