Duncan residents evacuated after Gila River floods town. Here's what to know
Residents in Duncan were evacuated early Monday after the Gila River overflowed and flooded the town because of monsoon storms.
Residents between U.S. 70 and the river were evacuated, a town spokesperson said.
The breach happened between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. At the height of the flooding, the water level reached 20 feet at the Gila River Bridge.
The spokesperson did not get an official count of how many people were evacuated.
The town, the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office and the fire department responded to the flooding.
A few homes have water in them, the spokesperson said. The water level continues to drop.
Responders are working to manage the flow of water through town and when the water recedes, the spokesperson said, they will assess and clean up the damage.
The U.S. Postal Service on Monday implemented an emergency suspension of its Duncan post office because of the flooding.
Duncan Post Office operations until further notice will move to the Safford Post Office, 504 S. Fifth Ave. Duncan residents will be able to pick up packages at the Safford Post Office.
Safford sports radio host Lee Patterson described the flooding as a "scary situation" on Twitter early Monday morning.
What caused Gila River flooding in Duncan?
The flooding happened after heavy rainfall in the headwaters of the Gila River in New Mexico over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The river flows downstream into Arizona "impacting Duncan right now," said Rob Howlett, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Tucson.
The river's water levels peaked at 22.5 feet between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday morning, he said, adding that water levels are slowly decreasing and are forecasted to continue decreasing into tomorrow morning.
The National Weather Forecast issued a flood warning that will continue until 9 a.m. Tuesday.
More rainfall is expected later today and more storms may develop, Howlett said, adding that clean-up crews could expect more thunderstorm activity.
This is a "significant amount of rainfall" that is not typical in the area, Howlett said, but may happen "from time to time."
This is a developing story. Keep checking azcentral.com for updates.
Coverage of southern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America in association with The Republic.
Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gila River floods Duncan, Arizona; residents evacuated
