Heavy rains close Nogales foot crossing

Arizona Daily Star
August 13, 2008

Heavy rains fell near the U.S.-Mexican border in Nogales on Tuesday afternoon, forcing U.S. officials to close a pedestrian gate and temporarily trapping three people inside a small building on the Mexican side of the border.

At around 4 p.m., rains fell, and water rose to 2 to 3 feet high in Mexico on the other side of the border wall, said Brian Levin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

Three people were trapped in the small building at the Morley pedestrian gate, just east of the downtown Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry, Levin said. U.S. officials geared up to perform the rescue, but Mexican officials were able to rescue them first, he said.

The rain stopped before and the water drained away before 6 p.m., Levin said. The Morley gate, used by pedestrians to cross the border, remained closed though, he said.

The Dennis DeConcini port was not damaged and continued to operate as normal throughout the rain, he said.

The severity of the damage caused by this storm wasn't available Tuesday evening, but Levin said it wasn't nearly as bad as the July 12 flooding that caused an estimated $8 million in damage to Nogales, Sonora.

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