Flash flooding in Death Valley National Park has closed the park, including all roads in and out of the park, as well as the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.
About 1,000 people are stranded in the park, according to park officials. No injuries have been reported.
The park received 1.7 inches of rain Friday morning, an entire year’s worth of rain for the area in just a few hours. Annual rainfall in the park is 2 inches.
DEATH VALLEY FLOODING: Highway 190 is closed in Death Valley due to flooding Friday morning. FOX5 viewer Landt Robert shared video of flooding in the area that he captured around 7 a.m. Friday. pic.twitter.com/2XGaaL1blE
— FOX5 Las Vegas (@FOX5Vegas) August 5, 2022
“Highway 190 is closed and additional park roads may be affected or impassable due to flash flooding,” warned a post on the Death Valley National Park Facebook account. “Use extreme caution.”
Caltrans has estimated it will take four to six hours for the roads to reopen.
“Crews from Caltrans and the National Park Service are working to get the “administrative use” lanes out of the park,” Death Valley National Park spokeswoman Abigail Wines told SFGATE. “Some vehicles have been able to exit on CA-190 to Death Valley Junction, depending on what type of vehicle they have.”
Here’s a look at some of the floodwaters currently pouring down State Route 190 via @DeathValleyNPS. The highway, which runs from Olancha to the Vall de la Mort junction, remains closed at this time due to flooding. pic.twitter.com/z8M4N6ARKH
— Caltrans District 9 (@Caltrans9) August 5, 2022
This is the second flood to affect the national park this week. On Monday, flash flooding swept a car off the 190 Freeway, plunging it into debris.
It is not yet known when the 190 Freeway or the park will reopen.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.