Flagstaff, Arizona: A 46-year-old man died and around 15 people remained missing or unaccounted for after a powerful flash flood swept through the Grand Canyon, forcing widespread evacuations and damaging critical infrastructure, AP reported citing the National Park Service on Sunday.
The man’s body was found near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River on Sunday evening. The park service did not release further details, while officials from an Arizona coroner’s office were present at the site.
The flooding struck Bright Angel Creek on Saturday as it flowed into the Colorado River. More than 60 people were evacuated from the canyon by helicopter, while the Arizona Department of Public Safety assisted with further rescues on Sunday. The park service urged anyone with information about hikers or campers who had not been accounted for to contact authorities.
The flood also destroyed sections of the only pipeline supplying water to tourists and residents in the canyon. Because of the resulting shortage of potable water, overnight stays at lodges and hotels inside the park will be suspended from Monday. Residents who live there throughout the year have been asked to reduce their water consumption.
“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the park said in a statement.
Hikers Describe Terrifying Escape
Flash floods are a recurring danger at the Grand Canyon during the summer monsoon season. Rain can transform clear weather into dangerous thunderstorms and sudden torrents within minutes.
Parth Desai was hiking through a confined section of Bright Angel Canyon with fellow doctors and a park ranger when intense rain began falling Saturday.
“We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he said.
As the group later moved towards Phantom Ranch, a colleague warned them after spotting a wall of debris roughly 4 feet (1 metre) high moving in their direction. The hikers ran uphill into an area covered with cacti and were eventually rescued by helicopter after reaching the Phantom Ranch area, Desai said.
Floodwaters destroyed footbridges, reshaped the creek bed and carried large boulders into the Colorado River. The surge also changed an existing rapid or possibly created a new one.
“Heaven help us if the whole thing down there at the bottom has to be reconstructed,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. “Where are they going to get the money?”
Pipeline Project Faces Fresh Setback
The Bright Angel Campground, North Kaibab Trail and Phantom Ranch remained closed Sunday. Accommodation was still available outside the park at Tusayan, near the South Rim entrance.
Erica Viola told Associated Press that she and about 50 other hikers at the campground watched the creek rise and debris — including what appeared to be a bunkhouse — float past. Their helicopter evacuation shortened her trip by two days, she said.
National Weather Service meteorologist Darren McCollum said between 0.5 inch and 1 inch (1 to 2.5 cm) of rain fell in about 20 minutes on a steep, rocky slope. Two earlier weather systems had already saturated the area.
“So when the main storm moved in, torrential rain fell on everything that was already soaked, and that caused all the problems that we’re seeing,” McCollum said.
The damaged pipeline is part of a $208 million rehabilitation project launched in 2023 and scheduled for completion next year. The system serves about 6 million visitors and 1,600 residents annually.
