Flash floods in US create chaos in national parks and southern states

LOS ANGELES • A hiker swept away in flash floods and torrential rain was still missing on Monday as a weekend of storms forced hundreds to evacuate in the latest weather disasters to hit national parks in the United States.

Heavy rains were also causing havoc in parts of Texas on Monday as forecasters predicted more precipitation throughout the southern part of the country for the rest of the week.

Park officials said they were still searching for Ms Jetal Agnihotri, one of a number of hikers hit by surging waters last Friday when flash floods tore through an area of Zion National Park in Utah called the Narrows.

One injured hiker was carried hundreds of metres downstream by the sudden inundation, while others were left stranded until rangers reached them, the National Park Service said.

In New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns National Park, around 200 people had to be evacuated after being trapped for several hours by rising waters. No one was injured in that incident.

The flash flooding came after heavy rains pummelled the drought-hit south-west.

The downtown area of Moab, Utah, was left under a metre of water by the rains, the New York Times quoted a city spokesman as saying. "We had water that came through in a huge rush, along with lots of debris and some full-sized trees," Ms Lisa Church said, adding that the river had overflowed its banks in three places.

Elsewhere, footage showed children in Arizona being rescued from a school bus stranded by rising waters.

The National Weather Service said northern Texas was expected to be walloped this week with up to 17cm of rain, with parts of the state of Mississippi also expected to be affected.

"Much of this rainfall will be beneficial and welcome due to the effects of an ongoing drought," the agency said. "But the potential still exists for instances of flash flooding in urban areas and places with poor drainage."

The western US is more than 20 years into a painful drought that has left rivers and reservoirs badly depleted, and the countryside tinder-dry. But sudden, intense downpours are often unhelpful.

Flash flood warnings were in effect around Dallas on Monday, with forecasters predicting difficult conditions on the roads, and videos showed vehicles becoming submerged in floodwaters while driving in the city overnight.

A massive rainstorm in North Texas drenched parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, swamping roadways, triggering flash flood warnings and killing at least one person in what experts call a once-in-200-years event.

A 60-year-old woman died after floodwaters fed by torrential rainfall swept away her car, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins reported on Twitter.

He also declared a state of disaster in the county following an intense storm that dropped more than 23cm of rain at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport - the second-wettest 24-hour period in the airport's history, according to the National Weather Service.

"It fell too fast, too furious," said Mr Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at commercial forecaster Accuweather.

Climate change has fuelled more frequent historic rains and flooding since a warmer atmosphere tends to support greater moisture, which has led to an acceleration of these kinds of extreme rainfall events, he said.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE