A violent storm on June 21 dumped over an inch of rain in just 15 minutes in some areas of Moab, according to Grand County Emergency Management Director Cora Phillips.
In a conversation with the Moab Sun, Phillips said she was encouraged by improvements in flood alarm systems from the historic flooding in August of 2022, but more work needs to be done.
“That amount of rain in such a short time is catastrophic for our area,” said Phillips, who said that the damages shows a need for an improved and comprehensive flood warning system for the area.
“US Geological Survey stream gauges are just not designed for flood warning,” she said, noting that the meters only transmit data every 15 minutes—too late for proactive warnings in most cases.
“It’s not just Grand County, either,” Phillips commented, “Emery, Carbon, San Juan counties…they all had significant impacts from the storm and could benefit from better alerts.
The flooding also damaged infrastructure that was still under repair from damage from 2022, city officials reported.
Moab City Manager David Everett said that the city was already working on filing insurance claims resulting from the storm damage.
With more storms likely during monsoon season this year, Phillips asked residents to sign up for the My Alerts emergency alert system.
“You can set specific locations for warnings,” said Phillips, “so you won’t be disturbed if something isn’t in your area or unless it’s a very severe warning. It’s a great app and an important way for us to communicate.” Sign up for alerts by downloading the My Alerts app or by going to GrandCountyAlerts.org.
Photo credit Murice Miller
