On Saturday, Aug. 20, Mill Creek flash flooded. Preliminary data from the Mill Creek water gage near the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve shows the water height peaked at 15.65 feet—nearly 12 feet higher than usual.
On Sunday, Aug. 21, the city and Grand County declared a state of emergency. The flood caused millions of dollars in city infrastructure damage: Nearly every building on Main Street, 100 West, and along the Mill Creek parkway was impacted, and the parkway itself is closed indefinitely due to debris and significant damage.
Photos by Alison Harford/Moab Sun News. Click the photos to make them larger!
Floodwaters underneath the Main St. bridge.When the water receded, it left behind mud and debris.The bridge at 300 S. was overtopped by three or four feet of water, damaging the guardrail and leaving behind debris. The other side of the 300 S. bridge is closed indefinitely.Construction equipment clears debris from what used to be Up the Creek Campground.Floodwaters raged along the entirety of the Mill Creek parkway, pictured here near the Backyard Theater.The creek bed is now lined with large rocks and debris.
Across Moab, residents volunteered to clean-up the city and help each other out.
Zack Brown, a volunteer from Salt Lake City, and Levi Jones, the City of Moab’s public works director, handed out free water to residents impacted by the flood.Volunteers at the Youth Garden Project helped shovel mud out of what was once the Nibble Garden.Over 50 people volunteered to clean up the garden.
