A local state of emergency has been declared in St. George because of flooding and damage from a storm that battered the city Sunday night.
Gov. Gary Herbert visited the city in Southwest Utah Monday to assess the damage with local officials. Standing next to a sinkhole that had buried a car, Herbert said there have been no deaths due to the storm. But, he said 15-20 homes were flooded along with other property damage throughout the city.
“This is always a learning experience for us as we move forward,” Herbert said. “St. George, Washington County and the state will learn together and hopefully continue to mitigate so when these events do happen we have minimal damage.”
He estimated half a million dollars worth of destruction, but said the cost will likely go up in the coming days as the situation is better understood.
I had the opportunity to visit today with @CityofStgeorge officials to survey the damage caused by severe thunderstorms. Response teams have done a tremendous job responding to the flooding and enabling roads to be reopened. #utwx pic.twitter.com/fz6Mb7AfQj
— Gov. Gary Herbert (@GovHerbert) August 24, 2020
The storm rolled in Sunday night and lasted for a few hours. It temporarily closed both lanes of I-15 and dozens of other roads in the city because of flash floods. Cars were stalled on the road throughout the area due to high waters.
1015 MDT: stalled car in water on I-15 southbound under Dixie Drive overpass. pic.twitter.com/JW0DrF8Tch
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) August 24, 2020
Most of the streets reopened by Monday afternoon, but debris and dirt are still being cleaned up.
St. George Mayor Jon Pike said the center of the city was hardest hit by the storm.
“This hit so quickly and so hard,” Pike said. “Here in the desert there’s a lot of quick runoff that happens — it comes off our hills and down our streets. It will take some work and some effort, but we appreciate everyone’s patience.”
