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Drivers were rescued from stranded vehicles after flash flooding submerged a major highway in Denver, Colorado.
The I-70 was flooded near the Brighton area, northeast of downtown, on Sunday. Traffic was paralysed in both directions as firefighters rescued 11 people from vehicles.
One driver told ABC7 he was on the I-70 when water quickly submerged his car. Several people were forced to escape vehicles via the windows.
No injuries were reported however a few drivers had to abandon cars in the water.
The Colorado Department of Transportation later reported that the flooding had impacted a section of roadway that is under construction and where the drainage network was not yet finished.
The National Weather Service reported on Sunday night that “concerning” heavy rainfall, flash flooding and thunderstorms were lingering over the east-facing slopes of the Colorado Front Range, which are located to the west of Denver.
The showers were described as “slow-moving and persistent”. Rainfall of three to four inches was expected overnight with potentially more areas of flash flooding, including particularly vulnerable burn scar areas of previous wildfires.
The US has experienced devastating flash flooding this summer including in eastern Kentucky where at least 38 people died.
The country is likely to see more flash floods in future due to the climate crisis, and floods what will be “flashier” – meaning a lot more water in shorter periods of time.
Unlike river or coastal flooding, flash floods don’t require a body of water to overflow but simply happen when there’s more water than the ground can absorb.
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