People flocked to downtown Reno Sunday evening—recording cellphone videos and snapping selfies next to the churning Truckee River, even as city police on PA systems warned that a potential levee failure west of downtown could spell disaster for those hovering too close to the river’s edge.
Later in the evening, the crowds thinned as people left the streets but continued using social media to discuss the flood. The official hashtag—#NVFlood2017—designated by Washoe County officials saw plenty of action throughout Sunday evening and into Monday as flooding and mudslides were reported from Lemmon Valley to the Virginia City Highlands and farther south toward the capital.
According to the county’s website, the river reached its highest point in downtown Reno late Sunday night. Many streets in the Sparks industrial area were inundated when the river overflowed its banks there Monday morning.
This week marks the latest in more than a dozen wintertime floods that have hit the region in recorded history. The last was in 2005, but according to a University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension report, major floods also occurred “in 1862, 1875, 1890, 1904, 1907, 1928, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1955, 1963, 1986” and, of course, 1997.
Thankfully, no flood-related injuries were reported this time around. But the cities of Reno and Sparks, and Washoe County were still—as of press time—trying to get an estimate of the damage done by the flood and rain across the region.