One person is dead and at least 14 others remain missing or unaccounted for after a flash flood tore through the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Saturday afternoon. Air evacuations were still underway on Sunday, a full day after the flood struck.
The flood hit at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time Saturday in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area, both heavily used by hikers and backpackers. The National Park Service described it as a "significant flash flood event." By Sunday evening, NPS confirmed that one person had been recovered from the river. The identity of that individual had not been released.
Earlier Sunday, officials had counted more than 20 people as missing. By Sunday evening, that number had been revised to 15 individuals "who may be missing or unaccounted for," the NPS said. The agency asked the public for help: "The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29, as well as anyone who had a campground reservation in the affected corridor, to provide information to the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB)."
Sixty-two individuals were air evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail. Evacuees were transported to the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim, where the American Red Cross set up assistance operations. Grand Canyon National Park staff coordinated the evacuations with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
The flood caused serious damage to the park's infrastructure. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, the NPS said, cutting off hiker access across the creek. The park's water pipeline was also knocked out, forcing officials to impose significant conservation measures. Beginning Monday, no overnight hotel stays are permitted. Only campground bathroom faucets will remain operational. Multiple campgrounds and trails are closed with no estimated reopening date.
Videos obtained by ABC News showed a roaring Colorado River carrying mudflows and debris from metal structures.
The NPS warned that additional storms may be coming. "Grand Canyon will possibly face additional thunderstorms and heavy rainfall today and Monday, which could result in flash flooding, debris flow, and rockfall," the agency said in its Sunday statement. No injuries beyond the fatality were immediately reported as of Sunday evening.
