A body was found near Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road after Post-Tropical Cyclone Rachel brought heavy rain to Las Vegas. Metro Police has not confirmed a cause of death. Rob Banghart, an advocate with the Shine A Light Foundation, fears the death is connected to flooding that hit the valley on October 10 and says two people who returned to the drains during the storm still have not been found. Hundreds of unhoused residents shelter in underground tunnels.
Fears Grow as Search Continues Near the Strip
Banghart told FOX5 Vegas that the two missing people were last known to be in the area where the body was found. He said the Shine A Light Foundation sent workers into tunnels believed to contain the most affected homeless camps after the rain let up, in an effort to account for people who had been sheltering there. Banghart believes hundreds of people live in more than 600 miles of tunnels, with thousands of entrance points across the valley, the outlet reported.
Some people who got out of the rising water were later found on higher ground and under bridges, according to FOX5. Banghart said two others went back into the tunnels during or after the storm and have not turned up. He also said the system for keeping tunnel residents safe during storms needs improvement.
A Storm That Broke Records Above Ground
The flooding danger wasn't limited to the tunnels. Post-Tropical Cyclone Rachel dropped a daily record 1.08 inches of rain at Harry Reid International Airport on October 11, with parts of northwest Las Vegas receiving more than 2.5 inches, according to Global Weather. The storm flooded roads near the Las Vegas Strip and raised water levels throughout flood channels across the valley. Hoodline covered the Sunday forecast while a Flood Watch and Wind Advisory were already in effect.
Banghart said nearly every rainfall in Las Vegas carries the potential to be deadly for people sheltering underground. The Shine A Light Foundation works with Metro Police to prepare for storms and evacuate people from the tunnels when conditions worsen, though Banghart noted that many people living underground choose to stay even when warned.
What Is Known About Storm Outreach
A separate 2023 report about preparations for Hurricane Hilary said HELP of Southern Nevada’s team shared information before major storms about where tunnel residents could go, according to FOX5. That report does not establish what warnings reached people during this incident.
A Vast, Unforgiving Drainage Network
The Clark County Regional Flood Control District manages 113 detention basins and more than 722 miles of flood channels and underground storm drains across the valley, a network representing more than $2.5 billion in public investment since 1986, according to the Clark County Regional Flood Control District. That system traces back to the Nevada Legislature's 1985 authorization of flood control districts following major floods in the 1970s and early 1980s, after which Clark County voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax in September 1986 to fund the channels.
During peak downpours, floodwater flow through major Las Vegas storm channels can surge to 8,000 gallons per second, according to Nevada Public Radio, turning dry encampments into high-velocity water traps within minutes and leaving tunnel dwellers little to no advance warning. Hundreds of people live inside the underground tunnel system beneath the Las Vegas area.
Earlier Tunnel Rescues
Banghart said the fire department rescued someone from the tunnels two or three years earlier as well.
Just two weeks before Cyclone Rachel struck, emergency crews in Clark County rescued a man who was swept into a drainage tunnel during a heavy rainstorm on September 28, a rescue Hoodline reported at the time in its piece on a man swept into a drainage tunnel.
Outreach Efforts
Shine A Light Foundation helps people transition to housing and addiction recovery and conducts outreach to tunnel residents. The foundation is currently accepting donations of water bottles, snacks and socks to support its outreach work; more information is available through its website.
The search for the two missing people comes amid outreach efforts to help unhoused residents transition to housing and addiction recovery.
