It’s not AI. That monsoon storm impacted Phoenix and the border region

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Images of an apocalyptic-sized dust storm have made headlines this week, prompting many to question their validity in the age of artificially generated images.

However, for Arizonans and Sonorans, this has been and can be a yearly occurrence. With the monsoon rains every year, vehicles and people are swept away by flash floods, while major dust storms can impact travel and cause significant road collisions.

The dust storm that covered a portion of Phoenix on Monday afternoon is called a haboob, a massive wall of dust that tends to generate as monsoon storms settle in during the summer months. 

According to the National Weather Service in Phoenix, Monday’s dust storm significantly reduced visibility, causing travel interruptions on both roads and at the airport — where a groundstop was issued — and leaving thousands without power.

The storm also brought heavy rain, with numerous flood advisories in place throughout the evening in different parts of the Valley. 

The weather service in Phoenix advised that showers were expected on Tuesday, but would not mirror the severity of the previous day’s storm.

“The atmosphere is pretty worked over from all of yesterday's activity. But, (isolated and scattered) storms are still possible today… We will then see decreasing chances through the end of the week,” the service said in a post on X.

Intense rain leads to search and rescue efforts at the border

Closer to the border, however, the storm hit harder, causing major flash floods that necessitated rescue and search operations in Sonora, Mexico.

A flash flood that occurred at a creek that crosses the border from Nogales, Sonora, into Arizona, swept away one person. After a search on the Mexican side, the person was not found. Consequently, firefighters from Sonora and Arizona coordinated an unsuccessful search, which was suspended on Tuesday afternoon due to ongoing rain in the region.

A Nogales municipal police report indicates that at 2:50 p.m. on Monday, authorities received a call reporting that several people were stuck in the creek near the border at the corner of 5 de Febrero Street and Obregón Avenue, where a dam begins that carries water toward Nogales, Arizona.

César Vélez, of the Nogales, Sonora, Fire Department, reported that two men managed to escape on their own while another had to be rescued using a backhoe. Firefighters rescued another. All four say that another person, known by the nickname "El Barbas" and approximately 35 years old, was with them. As of Tuesday afternoon, he had not yet been located.

On Monday afternoon, the Civil Protection Department and the Nogales, Sonora, Fire Department entered the vault to conduct a search and reached the international boundary, but found nothing.

On Tuesday morning, in coordination with firefighters from Nogales, Arizona, the search began in Arizona.

According to Vélez, 14 members from Nogales, Sonora, and eight from Nogales, Arizona, were divided into two groups. One began the search northbound from the international line and the other southbound from Old Tucson Road, where the two groups met at Sonora Street.

He explained that there is a lot of trash, branches and puddles in the creek, making the search more difficult. They will continue to work as long as the weather permits, with a chance of rain.

He specified that no one has come forward to report to the authorities that the missing person is their relative, but friends have stated that he lived in the dam’s vault, so he may have no family in Nogales.

Jesús Gabriel Martínez, captain of the Nogales Fire Department in Arizona, said that if he is not found by Tuesday, they will wait for the water level to recede before continuing the search in certain areas of the creek.

In 2024, something similar happened in the same location: a woman was swept away by the creek, and to this day has not been found. And in 2019, the body of a man was recovered in the creek in Arizona, seven miles north of the International Border.

César Barrón is an independent reporter covering the transnational communities of Ambos Nogales. He has over 20 years of experience covering the Sonoran communities.