LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Floods are nothing new for the Las Vegas Valley, but on this day in 1969, flood waters actually submerged a large portion of the Strip.
Take a look at some of these stunning photos from the Las Vegas new bureau’s archives. The bureau tells us many of them haven’t been seen in public for decades!
Records show the water came rushing into town after heavy rains in the mountains. The flooding extended from decatur to highland. Western high school became an island. But the areas closest to the Flamingo wash got hit hardest.
The spillway south of the Caesars palace parking lot overflowed carrying dozens of guests’ cars with it.
They jammed up under a bridge, forming a dam that made the water rise even higher.
Flooding extended from Spring Mountain to Eastern, and the Clark County roads department closed Sahara all the way from boulder highway to lamb.
Caesars would later put the entire Flamingo Wash underground to avoid similar incidents.
The Flamingo Capri Hotel, which we now know as the Linq, later followed suit.
To this day, the ground floor of its parking garage doubles as a flood control channel, keeping storm waters away from the strip.
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