At least three people died and others were believed missing after flooding in a rural community in Arizona, officials said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, crews spent Saturday making preparations for an unnamed weather system that is forecast to approach that state’s coast as a hurricane early next week.
In Arizona, the manager of Gila county’s division of emergency management, Carl Melford, told local news outlet KPHO that two of the people who died were found in a vehicle, and a third person was found elsewhere after flooding Friday in Globe, a city of about 7,250 people about 88 miles (142km) east of Phoenix.
“I grew up here, and I don’t recognize the town that I grew up in right now,” he said.
Searchers looked for people missing all night, and more help arrived on Saturday to continue the search, city officials said on Facebook. They urged people to stay away from the historic downtown of the former mining town because of compromised buildings and hazardous chemicals and debris, including propane tanks swept away in the flood waters.
In South Carolina, the governor, Henry McMaster, urged residents on Saturday afternoon to closely monitor the weather and stay alert as potential bad weather approaches the state.
Also on Saturday, North Carolina’s governor, Josh Stein, declared a state of emergency in advance of the system that is being identified by the National Hurricane Center in Miami as Tropical Depression Nine. A year ago on Saturday, Hurricane Helene devastated parts of South Carolina and North Carolina.
The system on Saturday afternoon was located about 120 miles (190km) south-south-west of the central Bahamas. Forecasters urged people in the Bahamas and along the south-eastern coast of the US to pay close attention to the storm.
“What we learn every time is we never know where they are going to go,” McMaster said during a Saturday afternoon news conference to discuss the storm. “This storm is deadly serious. Not just serious. Deadly serious.”
