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PHOENIX (AP) — The remnants of Hurricane Norbert have been producing record rains and flash flooding across the desert Southwest.
A single-day record for rainfall left Phoenix swamped Monday, turning freeways into small lakes and sending rescuers scrambling to get drivers out of inundated cars. At least two people died in the flooding, including a woman who was swept away in her car by rushing water and became trapped against a bridge. Another woman drowned when she got out of her vehicle after getting stranded in a wash.
Floodwaters are threatening up to 100 homes in suburban Mesa after retention basins and channels along the U.S. 60 freeway reached or exceeded capacity, allowing water to flow into some neighborhoods.
Storms also hit Nevada, where 190 people from an Indian reservation have been evacuated. Officials fear riverbanks could overflow after 4 inches of rain fell in a two-hour period in the small town of Moapa, northeast of Las Vegas.
Rescue crews answered dozens of flood-related calls about stranded cars in Southern California as thunderstorms pounded the inland counties east of Los Angeles.
%@AP Links
286-a-05-(Joseph Friend, pickup was swept up in Phoenix floodwaters on Interstate 10, in AP interview)-"deep in water"-Joseph Friend says the floodwaters on Interstate 10 filled his truck. (8 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *286 (09/08/14)££ 00:05 "deep in water"
287-a-13-(Bart Graves, spokesman, Arizona Department of Public Safety, in AP interview)-"get to them"-Bart Graves with Arizona's Department of Public Safety says flash flooding surprised many motorists. (8 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *287 (09/08/14)££ 00:13 "get to them"
284-a-12-(John Bedewi, car was submerged in Phoenix floodwaters, in AP interview)-"was over with"-John Bedewi says he was traveling through Phoenix in the early morning when his car was caught in flash flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Norbert. (8 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *284 (09/08/14)££ 00:12 "was over with"
285-a-15-(Joseph Friend, pickup was swept up in Phoenix floodwaters on Interstate 10, in AP interview)-"just started floating"-Joseph Friend says his pickup got swamped by a passing big-rig as he was entering Interstate 10. (He left his truck and walked up an embankment to safety) (8 Sep 2014)
<<CUT *285 (09/08/14)££ 00:15 "just started floating"
APPHOTO NVJL111: Receding flood water surrounds a home in Moapa, Nev., Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. Flooding throughout the area damaged homes and roads. (AP Photo/John Locher) (8 Sep 2014)
<<APPHOTO NVJL111 (09/08/14)££
APPHOTO NVJL109: Horses walk through flood water behind a home in Moapa, Nev., Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. Flooding throughout the area damaged homes and roads. (AP Photo/John Locher) (8 Sep 2014)
<<APPHOTO NVJL109 (09/08/14)££
APPHOTO NVJL108: People try to free a car stuck in mud from flooding on Interstate 15 in Moapa, Nev., Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. The road is closed in both directions because of the flood damage. (AP Photo/John Locher) (8 Sep 2014)
<<APPHOTO NVJL108 (09/08/14)££
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