Visitors to Yellowstone National Park were seen narrowly escaping with their lives after a rockslide began falling on their vehicle amid devastating floods.
The drama took place when heavy rain fell on northern Wyoming and southern Montana on Sunday, causing record-breaking flooding into Monday and Tuesday.
A video shared to social media by Twitter user Anne Leopold showed one SUV approaching a turn on a road while rock slabs fell from the slope above.
Pieces of rock smashed and broke around the SUV, which Ms Leopold said had occupants inside who “seemed okay” despite some rock appearing to strike the vehicle.
Both the SUV and the Twitter user, who was filming the drive out of Yellowstone, had been heading towards the northern gate by Gardiner -- a Montana town badly affected by the water levels.
Only one road out of the tourist town remains open, according to Mike Skelton, the president of the local chamber of commerce.
He told KULR-8 news on Wednesday: “As you know being down here, there were several thousand visitors that were stuck here in Gardiner and couldn’t get out through the park, couldn’t get out through Highway 89”.
Roughly 10,000 people have been evacuated from Yellowstone since Sunday as floodwaters submerged critical bits of infrastructure and popular trails. Only a group of campers remains, officials said.
Residents of neighbouring towns have meanwhile taken-in thousands of visitors and power supplies continue to be affected, as does drinking water. A number of homes and buildings have also been damaged but no fatalities have been reported.
Some 87 people have been rescued by the Montana National Guard following the declaration of a disaster by state governor Greg Gianforte, the agency said on Wednesday.
Water levels in some parts are falling but according to the National Weather Service in Billings, Montana, the flood remains at the highest warning level, of 16ft.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
