Video shows dramatic moment car washes away in Arizona flash floods

‘This was pretty surreal for us’

The short clip shows a Toyota Prius being washed downstream amid a torrent of murky water (Twitter)

Dramatic footage posted on social media has shown the shocking moment that cars were washed away during flash flooding in Arizona.

CBS 5 and 3TV meteorologist Ian Schwartz shared the footage provided by a Flagstaff resident on Twitter on Thursday with the caption: “Whoa!!! Major flash flooding this afternoon”.

The short clip shows a Toyota Prius being washed downstream amid a torrent of murky water, with the car smashing into other vehicles before it moves out of view.

“Oh my god,” a person off-screen can be heard shouting as the scary scene unfolds. Taylor Landy told Arizona Republic that she shot the video from inside her garage.

“I definitely was worried for our neighbours across the street because the water was actually reaching their level of the garage, but it wasn’t reaching our side of the street," she said.

The local resident told the outlet that the torrent of flooding lasted 30 minutes and that she watched neighbours’ mailboxes and rubbish bins get swept away ahead of the car.

"This was pretty surreal for us," Ms Landy, who works overnight at a hospital, told 3TV. She had been woken up by the commotion.

A flash flood watch remains in effect for a number of areas in southeast Arizona until late on Thursday, the National Weather Service has said.

“Slow moving showers and thunderstorms capable of producing very heavy rainfall are expected to affect the area through Thursday evening,” the NWS said.

Wednesday was the second day of flash flooding seen by residents in the area, The Arizona Republic reported, with Coconino County having ordered its residents to shelter in place.

“I think we’re also weary that this is only the second day and we have rain coming the whole rest of the week, so that kind of anticipation is what is making us a little bit more nervous," Ms Landy said.