Arizona woman REFUSES to be rescued from flooded car without her dog in viral video
The Arizona flood has been causing severe damage. There has been a surge in moisture from the North American monsoon that acted as a catalyst for the destructive storms across the internal region of the Southwest at the end of July. It also included a flood that was seconds away from taking the shape of a disaster. The authorities in Apache Junction, Arizona, were located about 30 miles east of Phoenix and had to respond to 24 calls related to the flood on July 28. Thunderstorms had turned the dry creek beds into raging rivers.
However, out of all these, one call urged the police to a quick rescue. The police arrived at the location - Weekes Wash- and found a partially submerged vehicle. Footage of the moment has gone viral and show the police and one bystander working to save a woman. Her vehicle was submerged in the waters in a couple of minutes.
The woman was trapped in the car along with her dog. She told the rescuers that she would not leave until her dog was saved too. Though the police asked her to escape, she refused without giving it a second thought. In the viral video, one of the rescuers was seen breaking the car's window even before asking the woman if she could crawl. She said, "I don't want to leave my dog," while struggling to come out of the rear right window. By the time she made it out of the window, the front of the car was completely submerged. Though one of the rescuers said, "I will get your dog," they were unable to save the animal.
Two officers, along with a detention officer and a Mesa firefighter, were part of the rescue. The Apache Junction Police Department said that they are "deeply saddened" that they couldn't save the dog. "At last check, family and friends were searching for this beloved pet."
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Thursday's rescue operation in Apache Junction was only one of the numerous flooding episodes across the area recently. Meteorologist Reed Timmer was close to Flagstaff, situated in the mountains north of Phoenix, on Friday, July 29, when a thunderstorm dumped 0.60 of an inch of rain. The storm pelted the burn scar of the Museum Fire, which scorched over 1,000 acres near Flagstaff during the summer of 2019. Though the fire burned almost three years ago, scars are vulnerable to flooding and landslides even after the flames have been extinguished. Timmer said, "It has closed down the north side of Flagstaff. Absolute disaster here once again."
Roads in the area of the Death Valley were also closed late Sunday after the flood. This region barely receives any rain during the summer but gets affected during thunderstorms. It is unclear when the park will reopen. The flooding also broke down roads in Mojave National, California.
