Flash flooding in Utah Monday left eight people dead and five others missing when two vehicles carrying 16 women and children were hit by a rush of water and swept into a channel.
Three victims survived and one was transported to a hospital for treatment.
NPR's Howard Berkes reports for the Newscast Unit:
"Emergency officials say back-to-back storms dropped heavy rain on Canaan Mountain just above Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona. That sent torrents of water into the dry washes that flow through the communities. Local families had gathered to watch the flooding."
Search and rescue efforts were scaled back overnight due to the treacherous conditions, but will resume Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. local time. Emergency responders from Hildale, Colorado City, Hurricane, Washington County Sheriff's office, along with search and rescue workers from Mohave County and Apple Valley, were on the scene.
"We're pretty used to flash flooding, but this is significantly more than what we're used to," said Hildale assistant fire chief Kevin Barlow.
The Utah Division of Emergency Management said in a statement that the streets in flood-affected areas are awash in mud, sand, boulders and debris and many homes are without power and water.
Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
