Heart-pounding Arizona flood rescue captured on police bodycam

Brian Lada
·3 min read
5

A surge in moisture from the North American monsoon fueled destructive storms across the interior Southwest to close out July, including one flood that was seconds away from ending in disaster.

Police in Apache Junction, Arizona, located about 30 miles east of Phoenix, responded to 24 calls related to flooding on Thursday, July 28, as thunderstorms turned dry creek beds into raging rivers.

One of the calls led to a fast-paced rescue. When police arrived at the scene of a distress call at Weekes Wash, they found a vehicle that was already partially submerged with a person and a dog trapped inside.

A view of a vehicle partially submerged with a person trapped inside during a high-water rescue in Apache Junction, Arizona, on July 28, 2022. (Apache Junction Police Department via Storyful)

One officer, who was wearing a body camera throughout the entire rescue, smashed one of the rear windows of the vehicle to create an escape route for the unidentified woman trapped in the sinking vehicle. A bystander at the scene provided the officers with a tow strap to help secure the vehicle during the daring rescue.

"Hurry, the water's coming!" the officer exclaimed while trying to pull the woman from the vehicle.

Ultimately, it took four people to pull the woman from the vehicle and carry her to safety.

A screenshot of a body camera from a police officer as he and three other people pulled an unidentified woman from a sinking vehicle on July 28, 2022. (Apache Junction Police Department via Storyful)

By the time the woman made it to safety, the front half of the vehicle was completely underwater. The woman was also traveling with her dog when she became trapped, but the police were unable to locate the dog amid the floodwaters.

The flooding near Phoenix occurred just hours after Las Vegas was underwater after a thunderstorm unloaded a month's worth of rain in just two hours.

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Thursday's rescue in Apache Junction was just one of the countless flooding incidents across the region in recent days.

Extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer was near Flagstaff, Arizona, located in the mountains north of Phoenix, on Friday, July 29, when a thunderstorm quickly unloaded 0.60 of an inch of rain.

The storm pelted the burn scar of the Museum Fire, which scorched over 1,000 acres near Flagstaff during the summer of 2019. Although the fire burned three years ago, burn scars are susceptible to flooding and mudslides for years after the flames are extinguished.

"It has closed down the north side of Flagstaff," Timmer said. "Absolute disaster here once again."

Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer at the scene of a flash flood in Flagstaff, Arizona, on July 29, 2022. (AccuWeather)

Flash floods even swept away roads at one of the hottest places on Earth.

Roads in and out of Death Valley National Park were closed late Sunday after flooding from nearby thunderstorms clogged roads in the arid park, according to The Associated Press.

Rain is rare in Death Valley during the summer, but it does fall on occasion when thunderstorms from the monsoon rumble over California. It is unclear when the park will reopen.

Significant flooding also shredded roads in Mojave National Preserve, California, which is located about 65 miles south of Las Vegas. Similar to Death Valley, roads in and out of the preserve have been closed until further notice.

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