PHOENIX (Reuters)
- Up to 500 people were evacuated from their homes in western
Arizona on Friday as floodwaters threatened to storm through a
small community for the second time in a week, authorities said.
Residents
in low-lying areas of Wenden, Ariz., about 90 miles west of Phoenix,
left their homes again at daybreak amid a steady rain that threatened
to fill a local river bed to the brink and beyond.
``The evacuation
is really a precaution,'' said Larry Layton, La Paz county administrator.
``There are a lot of people who are real nervous and no one is
taking any chances right now. We feel that's the safe thing to
do.''
Residents
were sent to a shelter set up by the American Red Cross at a high
school gymnasium in Salome, just outside of Wenden.
Authorities
said National Guard troops also were busy trying to build dikes
in an attempt to block flood-waters from cascading through the
town and further damaging an already devastated area.
``We're hoping
that if the water does overflow the banks, that the dikes will
take some energy out of the flow,'' said Cliff Pearlberg, an Arizona
Land Department spokesman.
Weather forecasters
said the tiny town of about 1,200 people had absorbed about an
inch of rain on Friday morning and that amount could double by
the end of the day, when the rain is expected to stop. A flash
food advisory was in effect.
Residents
have been battered since Sunday, when the rain-swollen Centennial
Wash overflowed its banks and slammed into the town. In its wake
were damaged homes, businesses, cars, trucks, bridges and roads.
Many evacuees
had just returned before having to leave again, authorities said.
Damages have
been estimated at nearly $8 million. About 50 structures have
been destroyed and another 150 severely damaged so far.
Arizona Gov.
Jane Hull declared a state of emergency on Monday for La Paz County
and parts of Maricopa County, freeing up state emergency funds.
She has also requested federal aid for the stricken area.
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