LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – After two people were reportedly swept away when Wednesday night’s storms flooded Las Vegas flood channels, a local organization shared more on efforts to help those living underground.
“It starts with the noise,” Robert Banghart, Outreach Director for Shine a Light Foundation said of water in Las Vegas tunnels during a storm. “You hear the noise coming.”
It’s a sound that spells danger for anyone living underground; rain causes flash floods and fills our city’s storm drains.
“As soon as you see water, you got to go,” Banghart described. “You got to get out because you don’t have that much time.”
Clark County Fire Department said two people were still unaccounted for Thursday night after they were believed to be swept downstream during Wednesday night’s storms. One man was also rescued.
“We want to help them,” Banghart said. “Like, they are humans.”
Banghart used to be one of about a thousand calling the storm tunnels in Las Vegas home.
Now, his team heads down weekly and anytime the city sees rain to offer help and warn people.
“We sit down with them, we talk to them, we have conversations,” Banghart said of his work. “We share our experience, we let them know there’s a way out.”
He told 8 News Now that 19 people have accepted assistance from tunnels since Tropical Storm Hilary hit Las Vegas, but some still end up seriously hurt or dead every year.
“They’re scattering, they’re running as quickly as they can,” Banghart said. “They are doing all the things they can to get out.”
Therefore, he added that he and those he works with will always be committed to this important work one trip at a time.
“Every single person has their own story,” Banghart concluded.
Shine A Light has pulled over 300 people living in local tunnels out so far this year. Banghart said many of those end up working with the foundation to help others.
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