A 13-year-old boy died Sunday morning amid a series of extreme monsoon floods that hit Las Vegas, Nevada, over Labor Day Weekend.
Ryan Taylor had been floating through the floodwaters on an innertube, and injuring himself Saturday afternoon at a hectic intersection, according to The Associated Press. He was hospitalized and died in the early hours of Sunday morning. The cause of death was listed as accidental drowning, the outlet noted.
Las Vegas has seen at least 3.9 inches of rain in 2023, well above normal for the desert landscape. Two days of heavy rain fell over the holiday weekend, shutting down huge portions of Interstate 15 and stranding dozens of vehicles in mud. Mudflows are also up, likely due to fire burn scars throughout the region and excessive precipitation throughout the winter, which increased ground water supplies. (RELATED: People Missing, More Than 100 Homes Damaged In Virginia Floods)
Monsoon rains brought major flash flooding to parts of Las Vegas this weekend. #NVwx pic.twitter.com/yENkb1CKqM
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) September 3, 2023
The aftermath of the downpours left Vegas nearly unrecognizable, with I-15 looking more like a river than a road in some videos.
Las Vegas flood. I-15 situation.🤔 pic.twitter.com/PEPvd1IWRw
— 💎💎💎 (@MilaRoyaleReal) September 3, 2023
Las Vegas 9/2/23 – Flood warning & hotel system are down not allowing guest to check in #grindfacetv
TT/ lisalynn9292 pic.twitter.com/29TvtsW3jj
— GrindFace TV (Entertainment) (@grindfacetv) September 4, 2023
This is far from the first time Las Vegas has witnessed heavy, deadly flooding. In July 2022, flash flooding inundated the city’s famous hotels with water, causing the roof to cave in at Planet Hollywood.