LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Advocates with the Shine A Light Foundation say nearly every Las Vegas rainfall is deadly, and they’re hearing from the homeless in Vegas’s tunnels that some may be missing after flooding.
Heavy rainfall from post-tropical cyclone Rachel flooded roads near the Strip Saturday and raised water levels in flood channels around the Valley.
Rob Banghart with Shine A Light says that kicks the foundation into action, sending workers into tunnels where they believe homeless camps were most affected.
Banghart believes hundreds live in the more than 600 miles of tunnels, which he claims have thousands of entrance points.
MORE ON FOX5: Post-tropical cyclone Rachel floods roads near the Strip
“The ones that were able to get out and did get out, made a choice to get out, are camped up in higher ground and underneath bridges. I just drove by a tunnel recently that we were talking about earlier that doesn’t even look the same,” Banghart said.
Banghart says he received reports on some that may still be missing after going back into the tunnels.
“We got a call this morning that two people had gone back in at some point, and they hadn’t been found yet.”
It’s ringing alarm bells for Banghart and other advocates, after a body was located near Las Vegas Blvd and Flamingo.
While Metro Police have not confirmed the cause of death, Banghart says he fears the death could be connected to flooding.
“The report that we got of two people missing was exactly in that area and I have a lot of experience in that tunnel. It was a part of my route for many years, and I knew everyone that lived there. It wasn’t the first time, if you remember two or three years back, the fire department had to come out and rescue somebody that day,” he said.
While Shine A Light works with Metro Police to prepare for storms and evacuate people from tunnels, he says many choose to stay underground.
Despite the work, Banghart says the system for keeping people safe needs improvement.
Shine A Light is accepting donations of water bottles, snacks and socks for their outreach.
For more information on the foundation, visit: Home | Shine a Light
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