Giant Dust Cloud Plunges State Into Chaos With Blackouts and Canceled Flights

Dust storms have battered southwestern U.S. states, grounding flights and leaving people without power. A dust cloud—known as a haboob—smashed through Phoenix and Arizona City, both in Arizona, on Monday. A similar event made the Burning Man Festival, Nevada, look like a Mad Max sequel. Dramatic footage has circulated online, with pictures showing walls of dust towering over cities as they are plunged into darkness. About 15,000 people lost power across Arizona, as reported by NBC News and tracked by poweroutage.us. Delays were reported at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, while locals endured challenging driving conditions. Many of the power outages occurred in Maricopa County. “I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face if I put my hand outside,” Boykin Hitesman told Sky News. “My kids were really, really scared, so I was trying to be brave for them.” Over the weekend, winds of 50mph caused wild scenes in the Black Rock Desert for campers at Burning Man. The word haboob originates in Arabic and means “strong wind.”