Las Vegas was hit by flooding as heavy thunderstorms packing golf ball-sized hail, gusty winds and destructive lightning swept through the area, leaving at least one person hospitalized after she was plucked from a flooded wash, authorities said.
The woman was believed to have suffered a heart attack while she and two other people were rescued Thursday from rushing water near the Hard Rock Casino Hotel east of the Las Vegas Strip, Deputy Clark County Fire Chief Jeff Buchanan said.
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Firefighters reached two other people and their dogs in another wash near Boulder Highway, about 5 miles east of the Strip, and rescued another two people at another site shortly after 6 p.m., Buchanan said.
At least 21 airline flights were diverted from busy McCarran International Airport, where the National Weather Service said wind gusts were clocked at 56 mph during the height of the storm.
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Several vehicles stalled with water up to their headlights in one flooded intersection in nearby Henderson.
“People don’t realize just a few inches of rain can really cause some damage,” said Kim Becker, a Henderson city spokeswoman.