Police have evacuated hundreds of stranded people from Death Valley National Park, California, following heavy rains and flooding. “Thanks to the hard work of the road workers, visitors who were previously unable to leave the hotels in the area can now carefully drive out with police escort,” the national park said on Saturday.
Helicopters would be used to patrol the park’s outlying areas to ensure there were no stranded vehicles. There are currently no reports of injuries.
Unusually large amounts of rain fell on Death Valley National Park on Friday. The place is considered the driest and hottest in the United States. About 3.7 centimeters of rain fell in the Furnace Creek area. According to media reports, this made the day the second wettest since records began in 1911.
0.3 centimeters is the average in August, as reported by the Washington Post. The annual average recorded a total of just under five centimeters.
About 500 visitors and 500 park employees were in Death Valley on Friday. Around 60 cars belonging to visitors and employees were buried under rubble near a hotel, according to CNN. The flash flooding and storm pushed dumpsters into parked cars, according to the park. In addition, many hotel rooms and business offices were flooded. Roads were blocked by fallen boulders and palm trees.
The national park said the water has receded in most areas, leaving extensive mud and gravel deposits. Roads in the park would remain closed until staff had an overview of the situation.
