Rillito River 1983 Flood

Between September 28th and October 2nd, tropical storm Octave brought heavy downpours of rain to Southern Arizona. The normally dry Rillito River flooded leaving thousands homeless and claiming the lives of at least 13 people. This was considered to be one of the worst flooding disasters in Arizona's history.

[@timwebber8630]

I remember Harrison Road (East Tucson) was totally underwater where it met the Pantano Wash. I'll never forget the mobile homes just west of the wash near Camino Seco that were washed away and some parts of mobile homes laid in the wash for weeks afterward. That was some monsoon!

[@cacatr4495]

This footage is a worthwhile record of history. > I've saved this to my large Arizona playlist, to the monsoon flooding section. That was a rough monsoon. Alvernon Way (then a midtown thoroughfare without proper drainage) was a virtual river, very nearly impassable except to lifted trucks. Just driving home at the end of the day was a high risk feat.

[@marcchatow9516]

That's crazy! The winter of 82/83, we had a VERY strong El Nino winter weather pattern, with MANY storms hitting the West, & Southwest. I was living in LA at the time, and it was raining sooo much that winter!!
But lately, we've been stuck in a stagnant La Nina weather pattern.

[@marcchatow9516]

That's crazy! The winter of 82/83, we had a VERY strong El Nino winter weather pattern, with MANY storms hitting the West, & Southwest. I was living in LA at the time, and it was raining sooo much that winter!!
But lately, we've been stuck in a stagnant La Nina weather pattern.

[@DorvellTStewart]

Isn’t this the monsoon that led to the rescue of a man and two teenagers from a pick up truck stuck in a flash flood? It was featured on the worlds most amazing videos and a few other TV shows, I believe; the two teenage boys were rescued with virtually no problems, but the man accidentally tied himself to the truck with the safety line that was thrown to him; he ended up in such a position that his legs got tangled in the ropes, pinning him underwater.

[@markalexander4884]

This wasn’t actually the monsoon was it? I thought it was from that tropical storm that went up the Gulf of California.

[@landedeagle69]

True, it was in October.