GLOBE, AZ (AZFamily) — Two people are dead, and at least one is missing as emergency crews look through the damage left behind by devastating flooding this week in Globe.
Officials initially said three people were dead, but information was updated on Sunday morning, with Globe Mayor Al Gameros confirming to Arizona’s Family that two people have been found dead, and at least one other person is still missing. More rain is likely in the area on Sunday.
Mayor Gameros said the main priorities on Sunday will be searching through the vehicles that are in the flooded wash and stabilizing the downtown area.
“This morning, we brought in an incident command team, type 3 team from the state, and they bring in so many resources,” the mayor said. “They bring in over 150 team members … We also have helicopters on standby."
The mayor encouraged community members who cannot reach family members to contact authorities.
“You need to call the sheriff’s department, put their name on a list so we can follow up with any type of identification that we can find,” Mayor Gameros said. “You know, the vehicles in the wash we’re actually depending on the license plates and stuff like that. There’s a lot of vehicles in the wash, and some are mangled up between the bridges, the trees and stuff, so all those have to be looked at.”
The mayor added that about 800 volunteers are scheduled to come Monday to help with search and recovery.
Gov. Katie Hobbs declared a State of Emergency to support ongoing rescue operations and help clean up damage across the cities. The Arizona National Guard will also be deployed to assist in the rescue missions. Crews from California and Nevada are coming to Arizona to help with the efforts.
“My heart is with all these Arizonans,” Gov. Hobbs said during a press conference on Saturday evening.
The governor said the state emergency operation center is operated at Level 1 with 24-hour staffing from 20 agencies and over 45 personnel. The Arizona Department of Public Safety deployed more than 70 personnel, as well as ranger and drone support, to help with the searches. Six different county sheriff’s offices also sent in crews. More than 25 ADOT staff and crews are assisting in clearing roads in the area.
Authorities say there is no definitive number of people who may still be missing. Search and rescue operations will be conducted on the ground. Hazmat teams are also on standby, if necessary, for rescue missions.
The Globe City Council read a proclamation during an emergency meeting on Saturday afternoon, declaring an emergency. It gives the council expanded powers, suspends some regulations and increases resources to help those in need.
The neighboring town of Miami declared a state of emergency on Sunday morning. Miami Unified School District has canceled all classes on Monday, Sept. 29.
Search and rescue crews have been all over the area all night and into Saturday, looking for missing people. The biggest concern right now is about 1,000 propane tanks that were washed downstream, according to Carl Melford, the emergency manager at Gila County Division of Emergency Management.
“This has caused a major hazmat issue,” he said. “We’ve called in pretty much as many state resources as we can get.”
City officials are urging people to stay out of downtown because of unsafe buildings, debris and hazardous chemicals, including the propane tanks. Crews are also urging everyone to stay out of the creek since that’s where search and rescue operations are underway.
Eastbound U.S. 60 is closed near Pinal Creek Road in Globe because of flooding, the Arizona Department of Transportation said on Saturday.
Melford said this week’s flooding was worse than 2021’s flooding due to rain hitting the Telegraph Fire burn scar.
“I grew up here and I don’t recognize the town,” he said.
Melford asked the community to help each other out. “But for those that are able to check on your neighbors, help out your neighbors,” he said.
He called on people not to do their own search for loved ones and leave those operations to the professionals. “If volunteers self-deploy into these, into these flooded areas, it could throw off the cadaver dogs. It could cause more issues. So we know that people would love to help, but there’s, there’s other ways to help, such as, you know, helping out with providing drinks or food for the shelters or anything else like that, could be a tremendous help,” Melford said.
Mayor Gameros said on social media late Friday night that he plans to declare a state of emergency, which the City Council did on Saturday.
“I want to reassure our community that while there may not be frequent updates at this moment, it is because the City of Globe is in an active emergency mode,” the mayor posted in a statement on Facebook. “I will be declaring a State of Emergency for the City of Globe to ensure we can continue to mobilize resources and support recovery efforts.”
Arizona Forestry’s Incident Management Team took command of the search and rescue efforts over the weekend. More than 150 people have been searching for those feared missing, removing propane tanks that were washed away in the flood, and clearing debris, including trees and cars, from the wash area.
“We’re going in and cutting, or bucking up, any trees that have fallen in the drainage and getting them out of there so the next time the creek flows we don’t plug up another bridge and cause another flood,” said DFFM Operations Section Chief Bob Arthur.
Along Jesse Hayes Road, just southeast of downtown Globe, dozens of volunteers were in the neighborhood helping families whose homes had been severely damaged in the floods. The city has closed that area off to everyone, except local traffic for now.
“(Saturday) we cried a lot by the initial reality of it and (Sunday), now it’s work mode and we haven’t even touched on what the future is and so we’ll get there, we’re just trying to find what we can and salvage what we can.” said Rhienna Paul, who’s family home was among those damaged.
Multiple videos obtained by Arizona’s Family showed dozens of loose propane tanks floating in the floodwaters that one person said were releasing gas. However, it appears other tanks may have been empty. Several cars were also seen partially submerged in the water.
Many area residents reported being impacted by severe flooding on Friday night, as the city of Globe issued an “Emergency Flooding Alert.”
Gila County Emergency Management is advising residents to shelter in place due to possible hazardous materials in the floodwaters. People should avoid roads and outdoor areas. Globe city officials are also urging the community to stay away from flooded roads, bridges and washes.
Two evacuation shelter locations have been set up to help Globe-Miami residents. The locations are below:
The Apache Gold Casino & Resort in San Carlos, east of Globe, has also opened its pavilion as an emergency shelter and is providing rooms for those in need.
In the aftermath of Thursday’s flooding, several historic buildings in downtown Globe were damaged by the raging waters. The exterior wall of the Wild Horses Saloon was ripped off during the storm, leaving shattered glass scattered in the road.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? .
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send with a brief description.
Construction
Companies
Construction
Site Security
(916) 672-2660
Contact us
Construction Site Camera
sales@mrsecuritycamera.com
(916) 672-2660
