From Deseret News archives:

Storm causes flooding, evacuation in Taylorsville

Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 12:11 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
TAYLORSVILLE — Nearly 100 people were evacuated from an apartment complex after a Tuesday afternoon thunderstorm triggered a mudslide.

The storm dumped nickel-size hail and more than 1 1/4 inches of rain on the area in about 30 minutes, overwhelming storm drains, said National Weather Service hydrologist Brian McInerney.

A storm drain backed up on the corner of Bangerter and 5400 South Tuesday that caused a flood of water to enter into an auto parts store and flood an apartment complex below.

The Mulberry Park apartments at 5287 S. 3675 West in Taylorsville was inundated with about 3 feet of muddy water, flooding both the playground and parking lot, according to Wade Russell, captain of the United Fire Authority.

The water caused part of the hillside to slough down and hit an apartment. The rest of the apartments may have water damage so residents will have to wait to occupy their dwellings until building inspectors can determine if they are safe.

No residents or rescue workers were injured at the site.

One of the residents, Faaoge Tise, said if she can't go in her house she and her children will stay with her brother but was upset because she only had the clothes on her back.

Story continues below
Another resident is worried because she left her money in her apartment and only had the clothes she was wearing. She also fretted that she didn't have access to her son's medication.

In a separate incident, water flooded the basement of a West Jordan home on Misty Drive (6200 South) and eroded about 6 inches of grass and dirt from the fence line in the back yard.

Neighbor Michelle Vuksinick said rain and hail fell so fast the street looked like a lake. She said in the 18 years she has lived there she has never seen that much water. Another neighbor, Ed Lloyd, was also surprised by the volume of water.

"It was just running like a river," Lloyd said.

Tuesday, the rain also caused a roof collapse at a South Salt Lake business. Earlier this week, residents in Cedar City lined some streets with sandbags as thunderstorms caused minor flooding and power outages.

A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect for most of northern Utah until late Tuesday night. The National Weather Service expected dry conditions through Friday, with the potential for more rain over the weekend.


E-mail: lwilde@desnews.com

Recent comments

i am so scared now because we were suppose to go there to get my son...

mery | Feb. 15, 2009 at 6:35 a.m.

Image

TJ Kane, left, Kenydi Kane and Kenzie Kane paddle a canoe across a flooded field near 6800 South and 4800 West in West Jordan on Tuesday afternoon. "This is the deepest I've seen it get in 15 years," said Joni Kane, their mother. In Taylorsville, the thunderstorm also triggered a mudslide.

previousnext

Latest comments

Obama has tough sell on Afghanistan

I'm pretty certain that I heard Obama say, (on several occasions) "We need to...

Daughter: Mitchell fed me my pet

I always have to laugh at the logic of defense attoreys who say their clients...

So in the end Max really lost, by not being a true sportsman, How sad.

some years ago I attended a BYU-UVA football game in VA. It was a hard fought...

I am grateful to the police officers who choose to uphold the law for the...

Utes won't respond to Hall

"The Utah organization and its fans at RES treat our opponents with the...

Having made enough dumb mistakes myself I can now let this go. Max had...

If People kept track of what they eat and report it to their Doctors then we...

Letters: Therapy for Hall

I'm glad that he said something. Fans need to know what kind of danger they...

It is football folks - rivalry football - go to a ACC, SEC, PAC 10, Big 10,...

Advertisements