The footage seen here is available for commercial use by license. I own all rights to the footage. If you are interested in leasing this footage, please call 928-660-9735 or email me at david@rankinstudio.com.

This footage was featured in National Geographic's "Americas Wild Spaces, The Grand Canyon" (32 sec) and a Discovery Presentation, "Dying Of Thirst" (40 sec). May also appear in Discovery Presentation (Raging Planet II, episode "Floods" - in production) Also going to appear in National Geographic Presentation"Americas Wild Spaces2, Death Valley".

I also give this footage out to non profit educational organizations by contract. If you are from a non profit organization or working on a non profit project, and are interested in this footage, please shoot me an e-mail.

As a hobby, I chase, predict, and capture Flash Floods on video. I am fascinated with the amazing power these floods have. 1 inch of rain over 1 square mile amounts to over 17.38 million gallons of water that need to be drained. Some of the floods in these videos were produced when 2 - 4 inches of rain fell over 30 - 60 square miles, over a few billion gallons of water draining down one wash in the desert. These washes are usually bone dry for most of the year until the monsoon rains come. They can turn into raging torrents within minutes and are very dangerous during this time of year. If there hasn't been much local heavy downpour the floods come through looking like a tsunami with a wall of water that can get up to 5 feet high, and tear up everything in its way. This is what you see happening in these videos. I am also interested in raising awareness when it comes to these beasts. They are quite dangerous, and can come through up to 6 hours after the storms that create them pass by with almost no warning. According to a study done by NOAA in 2005, a 30 year national average showed that flash floods kill more people every year than tornadoes, lightening, and hurricanes.

Flash Flood Footage from David Rankin:

Informative Flash Flood Links:

National Weather Service Flood Safety Page (Click Here)
Wikipedia on Flash Floods (Click Here)
1997, Flash flood kills 11 people in Lower Antelope Canyon, Outside of Page Arizona. (Click here for story)
Flood Control District of Maricopa County, Arizona. (Click Here)