Flash Floods in Tucson Arizona

If you've been a resident of Tucson for more than a couple of years, you've doubtless been exposed to the flash floods that occur – one way or the other. If you're new to the Tucson area, you've surely seen the road signs, and heard the warnings for these torrential events. Heed the warnings!

Many people who move to Tucson are shocked to hear that there are flash floods. After all, Tucson is in the Sonora Desert – an arid region with all the trappings that make the desert the desert – sandy ground, blistering heat, cactus, and a conspicuous absence of surface water. Unfortunately, new arrivals to Tucson often don't believe the signs and warnings about these (often destructive) occurrences. Failure to respect the raw power of these floods accounts for annual property losses and damage, as well as personal, sometimes fatal injury.

Flash floods are very destructive events. They don't receive the attention other such things get such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and hail storms – and so people don't know how serious they are, and/or don't give them their due respect. Here's some insight into the potency and frequency of these events taken from a paper written by: Soni Yatheendradas, HWR-SAHRA, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; and T. Wagener, H. V. Gupta, C. Unkrich, M. Schaffner, and D. Goodrich.

"The current semi-arid coverage of one-third of the earth’s surface may increase in the future due to the effects of global warming. Many semi-arid regions are particularly affected by flash floods, caused mainly by convective storm systems. In the United States, flash floods kill more people annually than any other natural disaster, account for more than eighty percent of all flood-related deaths, and cause an average of one billion dollars of economic losses. Predicting these flash floods is extremely difficult due to their short duration and the small geographic region over which they occur."

Something you have to remember about flash floods is that they can occur in Tucson even when the weather appears nice. If it rains in the mountains, or there's a big snow melt, that can do it. You can be driving along on a bright sunny day and come to a wash that has five feet of fast flowing water running through it. There's probably a sign warning you not to enter the water – so don't enter. Even just one foot of rushing water can exert tons of pressure – easily enough to wash away your car, and everyone in it.

Here is what the federal government has to say about flash floods:

Actions to take if a flash flood warning is issued for your area:
• Go to high ground immediately.
• Get out of dips, canyons, valleys, and other low lying areas.
• Avoid areas where water is already flowing heavily. Do not attempt to cross a stream if the water is above your knees or is flowing swiftly.
• Do not drive through flooded areas. Flood water can wash a vehicle from the roadway and the road under the water may no longer be intact.
• If your vehicle stalls, abandon it immediately and seek higher ground. Rising flood water may engulf and sweep it away.
• Do not place your vehicle, camper, or tent along streams, creeks, or washes, particularly during threatening weather.
• When water threatens your campsite, leave immediately. Do not attempt to save your camper, tent, clothing, or other personal belongings.

Don't become a flash flood statistic. Tucson is a great place to live, don't let these rare occurrences become anything more than rare inconveniences. Heed the warnings, and the warning signs – and make sure your kids do too.