Raging Floodwater Swallows Vehicles as Arizona Towns Ordered to Evacuate

Yavapai County, United States – Raging brown floodwater swallowed vehicles and swept debris downstream in Arizona's Yavapai County on Sunday, November 1, as residents near Cottonwood were ordered to evacuate.

Footage released by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office shows fast-flowing water rushing past trees, with a pickup truck and a black vehicle almost entirely submerged and a yellow object floating past in the current.

A second clip shows a wide expanse of muddy water covering roads and land, with only the tops of a stop sign and trees visible above the flood, and water surrounding a building.

The sheriff's office said a bridge at Sycamore Park near Lake Montezuma was underwater and impassable, and told residents along East Beaver Vista Road to shelter in place or move to higher ground.

Later that day, it issued "GO" evacuation orders for areas around Bates Road, Comanche, Franquero and Rivera Run Drive in Cottonwood, telling people to "evacuate now," and opened a temporary shelter in Camp Verde.