Thousands of people were stranded stranded in the Nevada desert, while others managed to escape by walking through the mud, after torrential rains that occurred Friday night collapsed the compound of the ppopular Burning Man festival in the United States.
Although the organizers of the event attendees were asked to take shelter and that they did not try to leave the area on their own, which was completely muddy, hundreds of them decided to escape by walking through the desert.
According to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, some deputies they walked to a main road to wait for the buses sent by the festival organizers on Saturday night.
Numerous videos circulate on the networks, such as these:
73,000 people were trapped in the desert due to the muddy desert caused by the storm, unable to escape the desert. The authorities asked them to save limited water, food and firewood. There have been fatalities, but authorities have not released any further details.
#BurningMan pic.twitter.com/i7ClfHcMvf—Supin (@yzimng2) September 4, 2023
A rare late summer storm turned the ‘Burning Man’ festival into a disaster, with tens of thousands of people stranded by mud and no working toilets in the Nevada desert.
The organizers closed the way to vehicles… pic.twitter.com/98YmoJempV
— NMore (@nmas) September 4, 2023
Office sergeant Nathan Carmichael explained on Sunday that “over 70,000” people are currently stranded at the festival and that “some people are leaving” despite organizers’ insistence that it is safer to stay.
Flight
Among those who decided to flee on their own foot on Saturday were ecomedian Chris Rock and musician DJ Diplowho had performed at the festival, who walked 10 kilometers through the desert mud and then managed to leave the festival in a fan’s truck, videos posted on social media show.
In the latest report released this morning at 9:00 a.m. Nevada time (4:00 p.m. GMT), organizers insisted that roads are too wet and muddy to open and that there is “an uncertain weather front” approaching Black Rock City, the name of the temporary city that is built every year to host the festival.
“Some vehicles with 4×4 drive and off-road tires can navigate the mud and get out successfully. But we’re seeing most other types of vehicles trying to get going get stuck in the wet mud, making it difficult for everyone to exodus.” they explained.
Therefore, they asked people not to get out in their vehicles until further notice that will occur after the possible storm passes.
In addition, they affirmed that tonightand “weather permitting” they plan to burn “the man”, the huge totem that is burned at the end of the event and that gives its name to the festival (“Burning Man”, burning man).
“We have come here knowing that this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive. That is why we are all well prepared for a climate event like this,” the organizers point out on the event’s website, “in which they recommend visitors to ration water and food.
This Sunday it was also known that the authorities They are investigating the death of a person in the area, but they did not provide data on whether the death had to do with the rains.
The Burning Man festival takes place each year on a dry lake in the Nevada desert, where a temporary city is built, accessible via a two-lane highway.
During the event, attendees can participate in a number of arts and community activities.
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According to the organizers, the festival is guided by a series of principles, including “civil liability”, “radical expression” or “leave no trace”, and the use of money is not allowed (although the tickets to go cost hundreds of dollars).
This year’s edition of the festival began last Sunday, with the theme “Animalia” and this edition wanted to “celebrate the animal world and our place in it.”