At least 2 dead in Grand Canyon flooding; Park Service says 20-plus may be missing
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A still image from video shows people crossing a bridge amid flash flooding in the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, on Aug 29.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- At least two people died and over 20 are missing after flash flooding hit the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Creek, causing extensive damage and forcing helicopter evacuations.
- Flooding destroyed trails, footbridges and the Transcanyon Waterline, limiting the park's water supply and leading to conservation measures and closure of some areas.
- Visitors described dramatic escapes from the flood, including US Representative David Schweikert, while the popular South Rim remained open but with restrictions and ongoing search efforts.
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LOS ANGELES – At least two people were killed and as many as 20 or more others were unaccounted for after flash flooding struck the Grand Canyon in Arizona over the weekend, forcing the evacuation of dozens of hikers by helicopter, the National Park Service said.
Heavy rains on Aug 29 sent a cascade of mud, boulders and debris rushing through Bright Angel Creek, a major side canyon that runs from the park’s North Rim to the Colorado River, sweeping away trails, foot bridges and other infrastructure.
On Aug 31, the park service confirmed that the bodies of two flood victims had been recovered, one of them a 46-year-old man whose remains were found on Aug 30, while search-and-recovery operations continued along the canyon floor.
The precise number of people still missing two days after heavy downpours transformed the Bright Angel Creek area of the canyon into a raging torrent was unclear.
But the park service said in a social media post on Aug 30 that the agency was seeking “information about more than 20 individuals who may be missing or unaccounted for” following Aug 29’s flood.
As at the morning of Aug 30, 62 people had been evacuated from Phantom Ranch, an historic lodge and camp ground near the confluence of Bright Angel Creek and the Colorado River, and the North Kaibab Trail, which follows the creek through the canyon floor, according to the park service.
“The flooding caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the inner canyon, including the Transcanyon Waterline, which supplies water from the canyon for use in the park,” the park service said.
With the system temporarily knocked out of operation, the park was left with limited water reserves, requiring significant conservation measures for park facilities, according to the agency.
The popular South Rim of the park remained open to the public during the day on Aug 31, but overnight accommodation and other concessions were closed, with additional thunderstorms expected early this week.
Several hiking and lodging areas affected by the floods remained fully shuttered on Aug 31 as well, and the park service asked that visitors remain clear of flood-stricken areas for now.
Park visitor David Gregory told CBS News that he and other guests of the Phantom Ranch lodging complex fled across a footbridge to higher ground, at the urging of a park ranger, just 10 minutes before the span was washed away.
“It was like a whirlpool in there, with all the debris circling around, cabins and other equipment from the maintenance work site,” he said. “I don’t think we would have made it out alive… I think it would have been game over.”
Among Grand Canyon National Park visitors caught up in the flood was US representative David Schweikert, an Arizona Republican, who was rafting with friends through the canyon near Bright Angel Creek when they heard an approaching roar.
“It sounded like a handful of locomotives coming through and smashing boulders,” Schweikert was quoted as telling the daily Arizona Republic. His group managed to hike out to safety, he added.
The Grand Canyon ranks as one of the crown jewels of the US national park system, drawing some 4.4 million visitors in 2025. REUTERS
