July–August 2022 United States floods
Natural disaster / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beginning on July 24, 2022, and lasting for a week, many flash flooding events hit several areas of the United States. These areas included parts of Missouri and Illinois, especially Greater St. Louis, Eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, parts of West Virginia, and the Las Vegas Valley. Several rounds of severe thunderstorms began in Missouri on July 24, culminating during July 25 and 26, when St. Louis broke its previous 1915 record for the most rainfall in a span of 24 hours.[7] Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency on July 26. Over one hundred people were rescued from floods, and two people were killed.[3][8] Late on July 27 and into July 28, historic flooding began in central Appalachia, particularly in Kentucky, where a state of emergency was declared.[9] A total of 38 people were killed in Kentucky as a direct result of flooding, with a 39th fatality occurring days later during cleanup efforts and a 40th coming in September during cleanup efforts in Pike County.[2][10][11][12][13][14]
Date | July 24–August 27, 2022 |
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Location | Greater St. Louis, Central Appalachia, Southern and Southwestern United States |
Deaths | 44 deaths (Kentucky: 38 direct, 2 indirect; Missouri: 2; Texas: 1; Utah: 1)[1][2][3][4][5] |
Property damage | $1.2 billion (Kentucky and Missouri only)[6] |
Late July 28, another unprecedented flash flooding event occurred in Las Vegas after parts of the city saw over an inch of rainfall. Much of the Las Vegas Strip became inundated, with roads, casinos, and parking garages being affected and flights being delayed or cancelled.[15][16] More flooding continued from July 30 to August 1 in Arizona, including Phoenix and Flagstaff, California, including Death Valley National Park, and again in the same areas of Eastern Kentucky. In all, 41 people were killed during the flooding events: 39 in Kentucky on July 28 and 2 in Missouri on July 26.[2][3]
More flooding events continued throughout August, impacting areas such as Death Valley, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and central Mississippi. A flash flood in Zion National Park in Utah led to one fatality.[4] The Dallas flooding on August 22 led to an additional fatality and four injuries.[5]