Grand Canyon flood leaves one dead, about 15 missing

A flash flood tore through parts of the Grand Canyon over the weekend, killing one person, leaving about 15 others missing or unaccounted for and forcing more than 60 people to be airlifted from the canyon’s depths, the National Park Service said.

The flood struck Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on Saturday afternoon, sweeping away footbridges, pushing boulders downstream and causing significant damage to trails and water infrastructure. The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service said, without releasing additional details.

The National Park Service initially sought information on more than 20 people believed to be missing or unaccounted for, then revised the figure to approximately 15. It asked anyone with information about hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday to contact officials.

Sixty-two people have been airlifted from the area, the BBC reported. The Arizona Department of Public Safety assisted with additional evacuations on Sunday, according to The Guardian.

“The whole thing was terrifying,” said Nikki Baggs, 41, who was evacuated from the bottom of the canyon with two friends. “It was a beautiful day and then people were screaming, running.”

Baggs said she and her friends had just dropped off their belongings at a cabin at Phantom Ranch, a remote lodge at the bottom of the canyon, when they went outside to enjoy the day. As rain began, they moved to higher ground and sat at a picnic table before rangers shouted for them to run to another ledge. They waited there for hours with others before being evacuated around 9:30 p.m. local time.

Baggs said the group had been looking forward to a steak dinner at Phantom Ranch but was grateful to be alive. “It was a really uniquely coordinated effort,” she said. “That’s what made us feel safe about all of it in an unsafe situation.”

Another hiker, Parth Desai, said he was moving through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with fellow physicians and a park ranger when heavy rain began. “We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he said. As a roughly 4-foot debris wall came toward the group, a colleague yelled, “Up, Up, Up, Up!” and they scrambled into a patch of cacti. Desai said they later reached the Phantom Ranch area and were rescued by helicopter Saturday night.

The flooding destroyed the park’s only water pipeline serving tourists and residents, prompting emergency water restrictions beginning Monday. Overnight guest lodging on the South Rim was halted until further notice, and year-round residents were asked to conserve water.

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

A flood watch remained in effect Monday as forecasters warned of more rain and thunderstorms. “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.

The flood also complicated a $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and related water delivery system that began in 2023 and had been expected to finish next year. Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, said, “Heaven help us if the whole thing down there at the bottom has to be reconstructed. Where are they going to get the money?”

The Grand Canyon draws about five million visitors a year, and Bright Angel trail is its most popular hike, according to the BBC. The Guardian reported the pipeline serves 6 million visitors annually and about 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village.

In separate flooding, officials in San Antonio, Texas, reported two deaths related to a severe storm there two days earlier, The Guardian reported.