Basement of Sally Roy's townhome, Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
UPDATED July 16, 2012 to include Flood Hazard Map and Key. St. George News has not undertaken to determine, at time of publication to date, whether the Las Hurdes townhomes subject to this story are situated within any of the flood hazard designations or what insurance may or may not be available to the flood victims or any responsibilities between tenants, landlords, residential association or otherwise.
ST. GEORGE – For Sally Roy, a tenant of a townhome on Las Hurdes Drive that flooded this evening, the experience was, she said, the most frightening thing she ever witnessed. She and her family were home when the water came rushing through her walls and into her home.
“Now I know how the people from the Titanic felt,” Roy said. “It looked like it was coming 50 to 80 miles per hour when it came in … it was coming up through the bottom so fast I thought we were going to drown.”
The Las Hurdes townhomes sit at the corner of Valley View and Shadow Point Drives. The segment Roy’s unit is in contains five townhomes, all of which were flooded.
St. George Police and Fire Department responded to the crisis and evacuated residents.
The homes are not far from the Santa Clara river where many homes were lost in the historic flood of 2005.
As then, so these residents are beginning to realize their extreme losses and are being told that because they are in a flood zone, their losses won’t be covered by insurance.
Roy said she was also told the association said they would repair what needed repaired but would not cover her property.
Everything she moved here from Florida, everything in her basement, pictures of her grandmother, her freezer, her son’s digital camera they got for a special photography class, these and more Roy related as destroyed.
“Everything you can’t replace got ruined,” she said.
When we spoke with Roy around 8:25 p.m. she said a group from Cedar City was there helping.
“There are people from Cedar City that drove to help us, they just heard, I think a lot of them are the LDS, I think a lot of them are people that just heard, I have 15 people downstairs right now helping my husband.”
She was determined to remain at her home because the garage door was removed and it left her home and what belongings she has left too easily accessible. She said that the firemen told her they could not recommend residents stay in their home.
St. George News photographer Dave Amodt was at the location and caught a sequence of the events as firemen knocked holes in the perimeter wall of the complex to release the water that was pooling inside the complex wall and flooding the units. Following is our gallery:
Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo courtesy of Melanie Mickelson for St. George NewsFlood waters breaching Las Hurdes Townhomes perimeter wall, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsLas Hurdes Townhomes, flood breaching perimeter wall, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsValley View flooding, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Karren for St. George NewsLas Hurdes Townhomes, Firemen knock holes in perimeter wall to release flood waters, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsFireman outside Las Hurdes Townhomes, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsLas Hurdes Townhomes, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsLas Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsBasement of Sally Roy's townhome, Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsBasement of Sally Roy's townhome, Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsSally Roy gets a needed hug, Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsSally Roy, displaced from her flooded townhome, Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsGarages flooded, Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsLas Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsPerimeter wall of Las Hurdes Townhomes after firemen made holes to release the waters, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsOne lone shoe carried out by the flood, Las Hurdes Townhomes flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsYoung resident of the Valley View area looks on as the Santa Clara River grows near her home, a home which has suffered flooding in previous years, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsValley View flooded,St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsSunset Blvd. flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsThe "Dean Terry Dip" it was being called, this part of Sunset Blvd. flooded, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsSunset flooding, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George NewsMain Street flooding, St. George, Utah, July 15, 2012 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George
Editorial Note: St. George News has not undertaken to determine whether the situs of the Las Hurdes townhomes sit within the Utah Geological Survey’s multi-level flood zone / risk designations. Below are the segment of the Flood-Hazard Map for the general area as published by geology.utah.gov and its interpretative key.
Flood Hazard Map for the Valley View area, from geology.utah.gov (Image of Key to map below)
Joyce Kuzmanic has been editor in chief of St. George News since 2012, having contributed as a reporter and assistant editor since the publication's inception in 2010. Before St. George News, Joyce has been a private business owner and enjoyed a long career as a paralegal in real estate, business and tax law transactions.
She enjoys hospitality, thinking, reading and adventuring in the great outdoors. Joyce currently resides in St. George with her husband and her dog, Scratch.
A Big thanks for everyone that called in and had us(Floodmaster), come help them with their flooded homes in st george; Prestige Carpet Cleaning, Ence Homes, Wasatch Mountain Construction. I hope everyone effected by the flash floods gets restored back to normal asap.
Las Hurdes is NOT in the 100 yr or 500 yr flood zones. they probably had a plugged storm drain or just too much water came of the hill and the subdivisions upstream from them.
Oscar – St. George News reported what the flood victim interviewed was being told which increased her anxiety in midst of the disaster.
As dawn breaks, we have now added an image of a Flood-Hazard Map, with key. St. George News has not undertaken to confirm or disaffirm the exact situs of these townhomes and we make no assessment on rights and responsibilities between parties, townhome association, landlords, tenants, insurers.
I love this town and the people. Problems do arise in life.It is always wonderful to see people reach out to help each other. What a wise move we made when coming here to live.
Most of the storm sewers I have seen in St George are plugged with debris and this was before we got any rain. The city needs to keep these clean would help some with street flooding.
There was also some severe flooding along Indian Hills, where there were several homes in the Riverwood subdivision that had a foot or more of water throughout. In fact, if you drove along Indian Hills, the severe flooding occurred exclusively below developments on the hillside. This is what happens when subdivisions are built on hillsides – desert landscaping covers the soil with plastic to keep the weeds out, steep roads make funnels for the water, and all that water quickly comes down to the neighborhoods below. Just look at the roads in Whisper Ridge, covered in a layer of washed-out landscape rock. City planners should address this issue so that hillside developments don’t create problems for the people below them.
Thanks to Home Depot for their generosity of sand bags (at no cost), and volunteering one of their workers to help place those sand bags in our flooded backyard!
The geologic hazard map provides good info but the insurance companies use a different map. It’s called the FIRM maps (Flood Insurance Rates Maps) These are the ones that developed by FEMA and are used to provide flood insurance info on your residence.
Most of those pictures are actually Sunset flooded.
Thx Cheese – you’re right some at the end are, in front of Dean Terry’s, and so noted.
We nearly bought a townhouse at Las Hurdes a couple of years ago. I’m now glad we didn’t.
Another FAIL for the Southern Utah Home Builders Association and the City of St. George for allowing homes to be built in flood planes.
A Big thanks for everyone that called in and had us(Floodmaster), come help them with their flooded homes in st george; Prestige Carpet Cleaning, Ence Homes, Wasatch Mountain Construction. I hope everyone effected by the flash floods gets restored back to normal asap.
Las Hurdes is NOT in the 100 yr or 500 yr flood zones. they probably had a plugged storm drain or just too much water came of the hill and the subdivisions upstream from them.
Oscar – St. George News reported what the flood victim interviewed was being told which increased her anxiety in midst of the disaster.
As dawn breaks, we have now added an image of a Flood-Hazard Map, with key. St. George News has not undertaken to confirm or disaffirm the exact situs of these townhomes and we make no assessment on rights and responsibilities between parties, townhome association, landlords, tenants, insurers.
Remarkable pictures and great news coverage! Our hearts go out to those who suffered flooding and water damage.
I love this town and the people. Problems do arise in life.It is always wonderful to see people reach out to help each other. What a wise move we made when coming here to live.
Most of the storm sewers I have seen in St George are plugged with debris and this was before we got any rain. The city needs to keep these clean would help some with street flooding.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of these homes. Please keep us posted if there are ways the general community can help the victims.
That’s astonishing! My wife and I live in Ivins and it barely rained here.
There was also some severe flooding along Indian Hills, where there were several homes in the Riverwood subdivision that had a foot or more of water throughout. In fact, if you drove along Indian Hills, the severe flooding occurred exclusively below developments on the hillside. This is what happens when subdivisions are built on hillsides – desert landscaping covers the soil with plastic to keep the weeds out, steep roads make funnels for the water, and all that water quickly comes down to the neighborhoods below. Just look at the roads in Whisper Ridge, covered in a layer of washed-out landscape rock. City planners should address this issue so that hillside developments don’t create problems for the people below them.
Thanks to Home Depot for their generosity of sand bags (at no cost), and volunteering one of their workers to help place those sand bags in our flooded backyard!
The geologic hazard map provides good info but the insurance companies use a different map. It’s called the FIRM maps (Flood Insurance Rates Maps) These are the ones that developed by FEMA and are used to provide flood insurance info on your residence.