Violent storms and heavy rainfall tore through Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, causing flash floods and knocking out power to thousands of homes, KPNX reported.
Motorists were also trapped as muddy waters flooded Interstate 17 Tuesday morning. The Arizona Department of Transportation sent heavy machinery to the scene to remove the silt and rubble once the water clears.
"It will be a muddy mess once the water recedes," ADOT spokesman Tim Tait told the station. "This will be an issue all day."
The motorists were not in immediate danger, Tait said.
Meanwhile, the early storm left some 3,000 West Valley homes without power, officials said. Power is expected to be restored on Tuesday. It is not clear if they are still without power.
Though most of the storm has passed, meteorologists said heavy rainfall is still expected in the area for this afternoon. Some areas saw up to 2 inches of rainfall within one hour, the National Weather Service said.
"I've been here since 1998 and I can't recall this ever happening before," Bob Barnett, spokesman for the Central Arizona Project, told the station.
A mandatory evacuation was ordered for residents in a trailer park in River's Edge. Evacuations were also suggested for residents in Black Canyon City, which lies north of Phoenix, KPNX reported.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning Tuesday morning for Maricopa County and Yavapai County that was expected to be in place for only a few hours.
Chaos erupted by 8 a.m. when rescuers responded to a call in north Phoenix about a trapped motorist whose SUV was almost entirely submerged in water. Officials received at least 3 calls for rescues that morning.
"In some cases they were just roads that were washed out from washes that were next to the road and overflowed into the roadway," Daisy Mountain Fire Captain Dave Wilson told the station. "In some cases, the water has just been pushing vehicles right off the roadway and down the stream."
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