Arizona gets relief after deadly, record-breaking storm

By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Parts of Utah and Colorado were placed under flash flood warnings on Tuesday, a day after the drought-stricken U.S. Southwest was hit by a record downpour that turned highways into lakes and killed two women washed away by fast-flowing waters. Drier weather brought some relief to the Phoenix area and southern Arizona, which was hard hit on Monday. In the city of Mesa, east of Phoenix, more than 100 homes were affected by floods, and images showed crews pumping water out of deluged streets and partially submerged children's playgrounds. Months of severe drought exacerbated the situation in many areas, with arid conditions stripping away vegetation that would normally trap or slow rain water. As the storm appeared to move north and northeast, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued flash flood warnings on Tuesday for parts of southern Utah and southeastern Colorado. In Arizona on Monday, Governor Jan Brewer declared a state of emergency. A record 3.29 inches of rain fell on Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, beating the 2.91 inches that fell in September 1939 for the city's most rainfall in a single day. Mark O'Malley, an NWS meteorologist in Phoenix, said the area could see some scattered showers and thunderstorms through Tuesday evening, a potential problem since the ground is already saturated. "We've had so much rain and standing water that any more rain we get is only going to exacerbate the problem," he said, adding that the NWS is predicting a drying trend starting on Wednesday. In Mesa, yellow-vested crews worked to pump water out of hard-hit neighborhoods that were flooded early on Monday after retention basins and channels overflowed. City workers went door-to-door on Tuesday assessing any public health and safety issues, property damage and providing ice and water to homeowners, said Mesa spokesman Steve Wright, adding that a mobile shelter also was set up at an elementary school parking lot to help local residents. "We've got a lot of things we have to deal with right now," Wright said. "My guess is that it's going to take several days before the neighborhoods are clear of water." Parts of both Interstates 10 and 17 in Arizona were shut to traffic on Monday, and a section of Interstate 15 in Nevada, where emergency workers plucked at least 15 stranded motorists from their cars, was closed too. Two women died on Monday in separate incidents in Arizona. (Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Daniel Wallis,; Peter Galloway and Sandra Maler)