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A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 8 august 2022
Tourists find safety after floods close Death Valley roads

By JACQUES BILLEAUD and nessed the flooding as he
MICHAEL R. BLOOD perched on a hillside boul-
Associated Press der, where he was trying to
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hun- take pictures of lightning as
dreds of hotel guests the storm approached.
trapped by flash flooding "The noise from some of the
at Death Valley National rocks coming down the
Park were able to drive out mountain was just incred-
after crews cleared a path- ible," he said in a phone
way through rocks and interview Friday afternoon.
mud, but roads damaged In most areas water has
by floodwaters or choked receded, leaving behind
with debris were expected a dense layer of mud and
to remain closed into next gravel. About 60 vehicles
week, officials said Satur- were partially buried in mud
day. and debris. There were nu-
The National Park Service merous reports of road
said Navy and California damage, and residential
Highway Patrol helicopters water lines in the park's
have been conducting Cow Creek area were bro-
aerial searches in remote ken in multiple locations.
areas for stranded vehicles, About 20 palm trees fell
but had found none. How- into the road near one inn,
ever, it could take days to In this photo provided by the National Park Service, cars are stuck in mud and debris from flash and some staff residences
assess the damage — the flooding at The Inn at Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, Calif., Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. also were damaged.
park near near the Califor- Associated Press "With the severity and wide-
nia-Nevada state line has spread nature of this rainfall
over 1,000 miles (1,609 kilo- Nikki Jones, a restaurant they wondered whether to and from Death Valley, it will take time to rebuild
meters) of roadway across worker who is living in a ho- they would get flooded. just washing out roads and and reopen everything,"
3.4 million acres (1.3 million tel with fellow employees, "People around me were producing a lot of debris," park superintendent Mike
hectares). said rain was falling when saying they had never seen Adair said. Reynolds said in a state-
No injuries were reported she left for breakfast Friday anything this bad before — Highway 190 — a main ar- ment.
from the record-break- morning. By the time she re- and they have worked here tery through the park — is The storm followed major
ing rains Friday. The park turned, rapidly pooling wa- for a while," Jones said. expected to reopen be- flooding earlier this week
weathered 1.46 inches ter had reached the room's While their room was tween Furnace Creek and at the park 120 miles (193
(3.71 centimeters) of rain doorway. spared, five or six other Pahrump, Nevada, by kilometers) northwest of Las
at the Furnace Creek area. "I couldn't believe it," Jones rooms at the hotel were Tuesday, officials said. Vegas. Some roads were
That's about 75% of what said. "I hadn't seen water flooded. Carpet from those Park employees also closed Monday after they
the area typically gets in rising that fast in my life." rooms was later ripped out. stranded by the closed were inundated with mud
a year, and more than has Fearful the water would Most of the rain — just over roads were continuing to and debris from flash floods
ever been recorded for the come into their ground- an inch — came in an epic shelter in place, except for that also hit western Ne-
entire month of August. floor room, Jones and her downpour between 6 a.m. emergencies, officials said. vada and northern Arizona.
Since 1936, the only single friends put their luggage and 8 a.m. Friday, said John "Entire trees and boulders Friday's rain started around
day with more rain was on beds and used towels Adair, a meteorologist with were washing down," said 2 a.m., according to Sirlin,
April 15, 1988, when 1.47 at the bottom of doorways the National Weather Ser- John Sirlin, a photographer who lives in Chandler, Ari-
inches (3.73 centimeters) to keep water from stream- vice in Las Vegas. for an Arizona-based ad- zona, and has been visiting
fell, park officials said. ing in. For about two hours, The flooding "cut off access venture company who wit- the park since 2016.q

4 riding in golf cart killed in crash at Texas intersection

cart were killed — includ- ek Gaspard said that after in critical condition, police Galveston Mayor Craig
ing two juveniles — when the SUV failed to stop, it said. Espinoza, who lives in Brown said golf carts have
an allegedly intoxicated struck a pickup truck, which the Houston-area city of become "quite a prolific
man driving an SUV ran a then crashed into the golf Rosenberg, and his passen- mode of transportation" for
stop sign at an intersection cart that had six people ger had minor injuries, po- residents and visitors to the
in Southeast Texas, police aboard. He said that the lice said. They were taken island resort area, which is
said. golf cart and pickup were to the hospital and later located on the Gulf of Mex-
Miguel Espinoza, 45, has traveling in opposite direc- released. ico.
been charged with four tions through the intersec- The occupants of the Brown said that the city has
counts of intoxication man- tion on a street that did not pickup were not injured, in the past put in place ordi-
slaughter in the crash about have a stop sign. Gaspard said. Names and nances aimed at make op-
11:30 p.m. Saturday in Police said the adult driver ages of the dead weren't erating them safer, and will
Galveston, roughly 50 miles of the golf cart was pro- immediately released. be considering additional
(80 kilometers) southeast of nounced dead at the Gaspard said that he be- ordinances at an upcom-
This booking photo provided Houston, police said. scene while a woman and lieves the golf cart, which ing City Council meeting.
by the Galveston Police De-
partment on Sunday, Aug. 7, Espinoza was being held two juveniles on the golf was rented, was operating "I was out last night," Brown
2022, shows Miguel Espinoza. in Galveston County jail cart were taken to a hos- legally on the city street. He said. "The island was busy
Associated Press Sunday on $400,000 bond, pital, where they died. The said members of two differ- and there were golf carts
police said. Jail records did two other passengers — ent families were riding on — residential as well as
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — not list an attorney for him. an adult and a juvenile — the golf cart at the time of rental golf carts — out all
Four people riding in a golf Galveston police Sgt. Der- were hospitalized Sunday the crash. over these streets."q