One dead, several missing after Grand Canyon flood

One person died and about 15 people are missing or unaccounted for after a major flash flood at the Grand Canyon forced evacuations, pushed large boulders into the Colorado River and knocked out the sole water pipeline that serves tourists and residents, the US National Park Service said on Sunday.

The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered on Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service said without providing additional details. Officials from an Arizona coroner’s office were on scene.

The flooding on Saturday in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, led to more than 60 people being airlifted from the depths of the canyon. The park service asked anyone with details about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to get in touch. The Arizona Department of Public Safety was helping with additional evacuations on Sunday.

A storm system moves across the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday.

Photo: AFP / J. Baird / National Park Service

The limited potable water supply because of the damaged pipeline means that starting yesterday, tourists would not be able to stay overnight at lodges and hotels within the park. Year-round residents are being asked to conserve water.

“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the park said in a statement.

Visiting the Grand Canyon can be particularly dangerous in the summer, because of the risk of flash flooding that accompanies the monsoon or rainy season. Clear days can give way quickly to thunderstorms and downpours.

A photo taken on Sunday shows Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona after it was hit by heavy flooding a day earlier.

Photo: AP

Parth Desai was hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with fellow physicians and a park ranger when heavy rain started falling on Saturday.

“We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he said.

Later, as they made their way toward Phantom Ranch, a colleague shouted “up, up, up, up,” as a 1m debris wall headed toward them and they ran up into a patch of cacti, he said.

They were rescued by helicopter late on Saturday after making it to the Phantom Ranch area, he said.

Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over the creek and altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and extending an existing river rapid or creating a new one. The flood was a major blow to an enduring effort to modernize the pipeline that serves 6 million visitors a year and about 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village.

“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?”

Halting overnight stays at the park because of a lack of water is rare, although the pipeline frequently has failed over the years. A US$208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system started in 2023, with the park service calling it a crucial investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project was expected to be completed next year.

Popular tourist spots, including the Bright Angel Campground, the North Kaibab Trail and Phantom Ranch, home to a historic canteen and dormitories, remained closed on Sunday. Lodging is still available just outside the park’s South Rim entrance station in Tusayan.