January 22, 2010
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Residents of Wenden, slammed by its second 100-year flood in 10 years.
"A 2-foot surge of runoff from a powerful winter storm early Friday morning flooded streets and an unknown number of homes in the western Arizona community of Wenden" AP.
Lt. Glenn Gilbert of the La Paz County Sheriff's Office says no one was reported missing or injured. An unknown number of people were evacuated from their homes. The flooding receded late Thursday, but returned several hours later when a surge of runoff came through a nearby wash. The flooding hadn't slackened by 8 a.m. Friday.
Residents were evacuated Thursday by tractor, boat or bus and taken to two shelters in nearby Salome. American Red Cross spokeswoman Tracey Kiest says about 100 people stayed at the shelters overnight Friday.
Yuma Marine Corps helicopters were flying over the area in case anyone had been swept away or stranded. An unknown number of people were evacuated from their homes in Wenden. Per a phone interview with Illene Wood, who lives 3 miles east of Wenden, the helicopters coming in from Yuma used their private airstrip to refuel during the flood surveillance and evacuations.
Scott Jones with the Wenden Fire Department said the Centennial Wash breached its banks and 3/4 of Wenden is underwater. www.BrokenCounty.com
WENDEN - With muddy water flowing right by their home, the Rohrig family secured their dogs Friday and prepared to leave, hoping their property would escape the flooding that submerged most of this tiny western Arizona community. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/01/23/20100123arizona-weather-flood0123.html
Centennial Wash is a large, normally dry wash which runs through Wenden, AZ. It has been known to collect such large amounts of rainfall that it overflows and causes flooding (as it did in 2000 in Wenden). Considering the severe flooding in Wenden today, we took a look at the flow rates recorded by a sensor in the wash at Wenden. Flow steadily increased from late afternoon through the night and peaked at about 9,938 cubic feet per second at 4:08am this morning. This compares with a peak flow of about 11,883 cubic feet per second in the storms of October, 2000, although – as a KLPZ listener points out – this does not’t mean that the total volume was greater in 2000, since it could have flowed for longer. http://www.parkerliveonline.com/
Centennial Wash swallows near-by farm..
Jack Kurtz/The Arizona Republic - A pickup-truck driver comes to the end of the road submerged in floodwater Friday near Salome.
October 2000 Flood
- Current reports indicate that the 2010 flood is not quite as bad as the flood of 2000.
- On 22 October 2000, an MCAS Yuma, Ariz., SAR unit accomplished a station record-breaking 11 technical rescues during a flash flood in Wenden, Ariz. A technical rescue entails lowering medical technicians out of an aircraft to reach a victim as opposed to landing and picking up the victim.
- The Wenden-Salome area sustained $12 million in damage in late October 2000 when heavy rains sent floodwaters raging through the streets twice within a five-day period. Approximately 100 homes were damaged or destroyed in the flood.
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