Death Valley National Park, located in California and Nevada, in the United States, announced its closure on Friday (5) due to significant flooding in the region, according to a press release.
“All roads into and out of the park are currently closed and will remain closed until park staff can assess the extent of the situation,” the National Park Service said Friday.
There were approximately 500 visitors and 500 park staff at the park on Friday, according to the agency, and stranded visitors can leave if they wish. No injuries were reported.
Abby Wines, a public affairs officer for the National Park Service, told CNN on Friday that several visitors to Death Valley National Park voluntarily left the site.
Despite the road closures, Abby says “no one is stopping” visitors if they find a way out of the park.
At The Inn at Death Valley, approximately 60 cars belonging to visitors and employees are buried under rubble, according to a press release.
The park had about 37mm of rain, the second wettest day since records began in 1911, losing to a record of about 38mm, according to the meteorologist. CNN Pedram Javaheri.
It’s nearly 70% of Death Valley’s average rainfall and over 1,300% of August’s average rainfall. In 61 years of the 111 years on record, annual rainfall in the valley has not reached Friday’s value, Javaheri said.
About 25 mm of rain fell in an hour, something that happens on average every 1,000 years, according to Javaheri.
Prior to Friday, the site had recorded just about 1mm of rain in 2022, the driest start to July since 1953, when no rain fell.
Abby says it’s unclear when the roads will reopen. The park remained closed Saturday as many roads were “critically damaged” by the storm, according to the California Department of Transportation.
“Drivers should not attempt to bypass any closures to access the park,” the Caltrans district said in an update.
Highway 190, which crosses the park from west to east, will remain closed over the weekend as crews work to clear it, the update said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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