One day removed from being hit with powerful storms that consumed casinos, airports and parking lots, Las Vegas is still experiencing a very chocolate start to the weekend.
On Thursday night, the entire Strip, home to some of the world’s most famous casinos and hotels, was flooded as the city put a flash flood and severe storm warning in place.
And it seems that the city is not out of the woods yet.
At least 16,000 people experienced power outages in the Las Vegas area Friday night, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Rain lashed the city in the afternoon into the evening, with the possibility of strong winds, lightning and even small hail over the weekend.
Another severe thunderstorm warning was put in place for Las Vegas on Friday, lasting until 11 p.m. People were urged not to drive through flood water.
The advisory affected Las Vegas and the surrounding cities of Henderson, Mesquite and Boulder City.
The rain is expected to continue to fall from midday on Saturday with a brief break from the extreme weather before the rain resumes on Sunday afternoon, meaning there could be more flooding problems.
Highs on Saturday are expected to be in the 90s, which is below the average of 105 for this time of year, a trend that may continue into next week.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman rushed to Twitter on Friday to thank emergency responders for their quick response to the flooding.
“Thank you to our first responders and regional flood control for keeping residents and visitors safe,” he tweeted. “Las Vegas has beautiful weather, but we have big storms in the monsoon season. Knowing that, we have flood control infrastructure to quickly move water out of the city to Lake Mead.”
Nevada Department of Transportation workers clean up flood waters from West Washington Avenue near North Main St. on July 29, 2022 in Las Vegas. Steel Brooks/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP A driver checks his vehicle that is stuck in a construction sinkhole after flooding along Charleston Blvd. on July 28, 2022, in Las Vegas. AP
Thursday’s storm nearly equaled the rainfall total for the rest of the year. Videos on social media showed lightning across the sky above Sin City, cars left stranded and partially submerged in the street and water pouring into Caesars Palace from the ceiling lights.
“While some of our Las Vegas properties sustained minor damage due to last night’s storm, all are operating as normal today,” Caesars Entertainment told The Post. “Repairs are already underway and we do not expect them to affect our guest experience.”
During the storm, seven people were rescued from the rushing water and one house caught fire, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue. There were also 22 accidents and 15 fires outside.
Alexander Wolf, a Las Vegas resident, told The Post he saw “curtains” of rain outside his window.
“The lightning was almost constant and the power went out several times,” he told The Post. “Electrical surges set off fire alarms in several buildings, forcing firefighters to go out into the storm to respond.”