Prescott Valley monsoon storm causes severe flooding and property damage
Prescott Valley residents clean up after flood
Prescott Valley residents are dealing with muddy homes and damaged vehicles after Monday's heavy rain. The Red Cross and local fire stations are offering support. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz has the details.
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. - A large cleanup was underway in Prescott Valley Tuesday, after a strong storm swept through the area Monday. Neighbors living near Roundup and Viewpoint drives saw some of the biggest impacts.
(Related video) Prescott Valley monsoon storm brings flash floods
Prescott Valley was hit by intense monsoon storms that brought heavy rain, damaging winds and hail. With the storms passing, residents are left cleaning up from the severe weather and lingering high waters.
What they're saying:
"It sounded like a huge wave crashing in," Prescott Valley resident Jamie Bostick said.
Fellow Prescott Valley resident Samuel Castillo said, "There was water just rushing towards the door."
A few cars up and floated away, landing almost a block from where they started. Some of the vehicles that stayed filled with water.
"Almost up to the door handles," Bostick said of the flooding around her car. "I have never ever seen Prescott Valley flood this bad."
The rushing surge even moved entire storage containers yards downhill.
"We had these storage containers that washed up and blocked our driveway here," Castillo said.
"We had about 4 inches of water in the house," Bostick added.
Layers of muck covered the floors of flooded homes 24 hours later.
"The water got up to here," Bostick said, pointing at the water line several inches up her front door. "As you can see, we have sludgy mud all over the inside of our house."
‘The water was up to my knees’
Resident Nadia Craig, who lives at the intersection of Roundup and Fulton, shared her experience coming home to find her house completely flooded Monday.
There is drainage on both sides of the street, and FOX 10 observed it only took about 20 to 30 minutes of rain for the water to get high. Situated on a downward slope, the water flowed directly into the street, with neighbors reporting that floodwaters entered their homes Monday.
"The water was up to my knees, coming in, just to go to my apartment," Craig said.
Video shared by Craig shows the aftermath after cleaning up the water that flooded her house, revealing a significant amount of mud that washed into her bedroom.
"I felt devastated. I almost … I did cry … I didn’t know what to do. It’s so confusing," Craig said.
The flooding destroyed her bed, forcing her to use towels to clean up the floor. "I don’t have anything. I don’t have anything," Craig said.
Water also filled her living room, and her backyard flooded as well.
"We don’t have another place to go so it’s just sad," Craig said.
Prescott Valley homes flooded during heavy storm
Residents in Prescott Valley are cleaning up after severe floodwaters rushed into homes, damaging property and trapping at least one resident inside. FOX 10's Andrew Christiansen reports.
Reaching the residence proved difficult because the road leading to her house was blocked off. Having moved in barely four months ago, many of her newly acquired items were damaged in the storm, including a $400 couch.
"Going through a hundred different things on my mind. ‘Where are we going to go? What are we going to do? How are we going to get our stuff out of here? Where are we going to take our stuff?’" Craig said.
Her neighbor, Sara Cabanillas, also reported that floodwater entered her house while her son was home.
"My son stayed here trapped while all this happened. It was around seven or eight hours," Cabanillas said in Spanish.
Neighbors are holding out hope that additional rainfall will not affect them again anytime soon.
"For it to go back in there and just destroy everything again, and us try to get it all out again, it’s just…we already lost everything," Craig said.
The Red Cross provided Craig with $600. Meanwhile, crews from the Town of Prescott Valley spent the entire day helping to clean up and repair the damaged area.
Big picture view:
With Red Cross volunteers going door to door, Red Cross Communications Manager Asher Furedy said the organization is "offering comfort, care and assistance, and doing what we can for those who've been affected by these floods."
As they face cars that won’t start and homes covered in mud, neighbors like Jamie Bostick say they’re at a loss for what to do.
"Last year has been really hard on us, and this is the last thing that we needed because now, like, we're struggling financially, you know, we're going to be without a place to live," Bostick said. "We need help and I don’t know how to go about it."
Prescott Valley storm causes downed traffic signals, trees
Prescott Valley maintenance crews worked to clear fallen trees and debris from blocked roads during a severe storm.
What you can do:
Residents dealing with any damage, no matter how small, can dial 1-800-RED-CROSS to get help.
For anyone needing sandbags, they are available at Fire Station 53 on East Yavapai Road. There is a GoFundMe to help the Bostick family recover. You can donate here.