Water main break floods Avenue B, rescues two drivers in Yuma

Two drivers had to be rescued after a predawn water main break flooded Avenue B near 24th Street, turning a residential stretch by the Regency Square Apartment Complex and River Park Apartment Complex into a hazard zone.

City of Yuma Fire Department crews were dispatched about 3 a.m. Saturday after reports of a vehicle submerged in floodwater near W. 24th Street and S. Avenue B. Responders found heavy flooding along Avenue B between 22nd Street and 24th Street, with two vehicles stuck near 23rd Street. One person remained inside a vehicle and was pulled out by crews.

Water Department personnel determined the flooding came from a major water main break. Even after the break was shut off, water was still not draining properly, and a sinkhole formed in the area. A second driver bypassed the road closure, drove into the flooded section and became trapped in the sinkhole before being rescued.

The City of Yuma Fire Department said Yuma Police Department officers established traffic control and road closures to keep the public safe. Avenue B was closed between 22nd Street and 24th Street while crews worked to clear standing water and assess the road and the underground infrastructure beneath it.

The closure hit a corridor that serves multiple apartment communities in central Yuma and carries everyday local traffic through the neighborhood. Drivers were told to avoid the area and use alternate routes until the damage could be fully assessed and repaired.

The break also fit into a broader local pattern of utility disruption along Yuma streets. A city water-main break near 26th Street and 4th Avenue in July 2025 caused a lane closure and temporary water outages. And in August 2024, the city described work on Avenue B between 16th Street and 24th Street that included pavement replacement, water-service improvements and storm drainage facilities at various points along the road.

That earlier work underscores how much of Avenue B has already been tied to underground utility and drainage projects, making Saturday’s flooding another urgent test of the corridor’s infrastructure. City crews were still evaluating the scene as the road remained shut down, with any reopening depending on the final damage assessment and repair work.