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LAS VEGAS >> A severe thunderstorm with strong winds swept through Las Vegas, knocking down trees and utility poles and scattering gamblers from the casino floor at Caesars Palace as flooding hit parts of the famed Strip.
Some resorts on the Strip and Fremont Street were without power several hours after the fast-moving storm moved through the city at about 7 p.m. on Friday.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://bit.ly/12UXRDS ) reports that Clark County fire units also responded to several calls of people needing water rescue near the Strip.
NV Energy was working on outages that affected 33,000 people across the Las Vegas area, company spokeswoman Kelley Mulroy said.
A new daily rainfall record of 0.22 inches was set at McCarran International Airport, and more than an inch of rain was recorded in suburban Henderson. Some of the record rainfall kicked a hole in the roof of Gilley’s Saloon, a Western-style bar at Treasure Island on the Strip where customers watched as sheets of water fell in.
No injuries have been reported, but falling trees and gas lines severed by tornado-like winds forced the evacuation of 200 condominium units on the city’s east side, Las Vegas fire spokesman Tim Szymanski said. Fifteen units were damaged by falling trees, and about 50 residents of the complex were expected to take shelter at a nearby high school.
The National Weather Service says that a 71-mph wind gust swept through nearby Nellis Air Force Base. Multiple buildings in the area were struck by lightning.
