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At least four people are dead after torrential rainfall and flooding in Arizona that officials described Saturday as catastrophic.
Three of the deaths were in the small community of Globe, Gila County emergency manager Carl Medford told NBC News.
Further information regarding the fatalities was not readily available. Gabe Lavine, the state emergency management director, mentioned that officials are still assessing the death toll due to the ongoing and “dynamic” nature of the situation.
As the floodwaters receded in Scottsdale on Saturday, authorities discovered the body of Ander Polanco, 38, near a vehicle that had been underwater. Polanco’s family had reported him missing on Friday, according to the city’s police department.
Early Saturday evening, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning signaling either imminent or present flooding for Phoenix, Scottsdale, and neighboring areas.
The emergency alert system was triggered to notify residents of “life-threatening flash flooding in creeks and streams, urban locations, highways, streets, and underpasses.”
The region could see an additional inch of rain from the Saturday night thunderstorms, the weather service said.
During a news conference on Saturday, Gov. Katie Hobbs stated that search-and-rescue operations initiated on Friday were still active. “We are working to ensure the safe return of missing individuals,” she commented.
She declared an emergency for Gila County, which is located northeast of the greater Phoenix area. This involved deploying the Arizona National Guard to assist with security measures and using state-owned drones in the ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
Hobbs said she spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who she said indicated federal help was at the ready.
The National Weather Service said that between 1 and 2 inches of rain fell across much of the metropolitan Phoenix area Friday. The city’s airport recorded 1.6 inches, the highest single-day total in seven years, the agency said.
National Weather Service forecasters said an upper level low pressure system — often associated with winter storms — parked just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, where it faced warm temperatures and a stream of warm, tropical moisture. The result was unstable air and the creation of thunderstorms starting Friday, they said, and likely staying through Sunday.
Video from the community of Miami, east of Phoenix, showed what appeared to be large hail and a road submerged in raging floodwaters. The weather service said that hail larger than an inch was seen across the region.
Other video showed self-driving vehicles apparently stuck in floodwaters at Phoenix’s airport.
Officials in nearby Globe declared a state of emergency during a council meeting Saturday. Council members described the damage as devastating.
“This is something that we could never even imagine, and here we are living it,” council member Freddy Rios said.
Rios said the extent of the damage was unclear. In a statement earlier, the city said its historic downtown was unsafe, with compromised buildings and hazardous chemicals and debris, including propane tanks.
Another council member, Mike Stapleton, described residents who were trapped and climbing on roofs. He said he heard an account of a pregnant woman swimming out of a flooded restaurant.