Society 4 min read By Arthur Ellington
One dead and 15 missing after Grand Canyon flash flood as more storms forecast
A flash flood in the Grand Canyon has killed at least one person and left around 15 missing, with more than 60 visitors airlifted from the canyon. The deluge destroyed the park's only water pipeline, forcing emergency water restrictions and a halt to overnight lodge stays.
State and federal officials intensified search efforts on Monday for around 15 people missing after a major flash flood swept through the Grand Canyon, killing at least one person. The National Weather Service warned that rain and thunderstorms could bring further flooding to the popular tourist attraction, where scores of visitors were evacuated after the deluge hit Bright Angel Creek on Saturday.
The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered on Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the National Park Service said without providing further details. More than 60 people were airlifted from the depths of the canyon, while the Arizona Department of Public Safety assisted with evacuations. The park service asked anyone with information about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to come forward.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said her state's Department of Emergency and Military Affairs was coordinating with the park service and county emergency management officials in search and recovery efforts. «My heart is with the families and loved ones of every person unaccounted for after the flash flooding at the Grand Canyon,» she posted on Sunday.
The flood also destroyed the only water pipeline in the canyon, leading to emergency water restrictions for year-round residents and barring tourists from staying at lodges and hotels inside the park. The Grand Canyon has large storage tanks for potable water on the South Rim, but they will not be refilled while the pipeline remains out of service.
Visiting the Grand Canyon, a crown jewel of the national park system, can be particularly dangerous in summer because of the flash-flood risk that accompanies the monsoon season. Clear days can give way quickly to thunderstorms and downpours. «With deep monsoonal moisture in place and already saturated soils in some locations, an elevated risk of flash flooding will be in place through Monday,» the National Weather Service said.
Parth Desai, a physician hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with colleagues and a park ranger when heavy rain began on Saturday, described the scene. «We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,» he said. As the group made its way toward Phantom Ranch, a colleague shouted «Up, Up, Up, Up!» as a 4-foot debris wall headed toward them, forcing them to scramble up into a patch of cacti. They were rescued by helicopter late Saturday.
Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over Bright Angel Creek, which runs into the Colorado River, widening the bed and extending an existing river rapid or creating a new one. The flood dealt a major blow to an ongoing effort to modernise the pipeline that serves 6 million visitors a year and roughly 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?» A $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system began in 2023, with the park service calling it a crucial investment. The project had been expected to be completed next year.
Halting overnight stays at the park because of a lack of water is rare, although the pipeline has frequently failed over the years. In August 2024, a woman was swept away in a flash flood while hiking in the Havasupai region of the Grand Canyon; Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was found dead after a three-day search.
