1 dead and about 15 people may be missing as flash flood tears through the Grand Canyon
CNN, DAVID J GREGORY, ERICA VIOLA, KPHO, KTVK, WIEKE DE BOER
By Maria Aguilar Prieto, Tyler Ory, Mounira Elsamra and Sarah Dewberry, CNN
(CNN) — One person has died and about 15 people may be missing at the Grand Canyon after a flash flood tore through the national park, destroying footbridges and forcing the evacuation of dozens of hikers and campers, according to park officials.
A 46-year-old man’s body was recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River in a flood-related death, park officials said Sunday night.
The park service said a previous figure of 20 missing or unaccounted for was a working estimate.
The flooding has also knocked out a water pipeline serving tourists at the national park, leaving it with limited water resources, the park added. This will significantly limit visitor activity at the park ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend.
The affected water pipeline provides potable water and fire suppression for all facilities on the South Rim, an area with a large concentration of hiking trails, scenic viewpoints, lodging and visitor services.
The “significant flash-flood event” began after a series of storms swept over Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area Saturday afternoon, according to a news release from the National Park Service.
Those possibly missing were “either on a backcountry itinerary in the inner canyon or believed to be day hiking along the North Kaibab/Phantom Ranch area,” spokesperson Joelle Baird told the New York Times on Sunday.
CNN has reached out to the park for more information.
As of Sunday afternoon, at least 62 people have been evacuated, the Grand Canyon National Park said in a statement.
One couple had a narrow escape with incoming floodwaters as they fled to their cabin. “As they were being evacuated, they could see that the bridges that they had crossed just 15 minutes earlier had been washed away,” a Red Cross spokesperson told CNN affiliate KTVK/KPHO.
Additional evacuations were planned Sunday in a coordinated effort between Grand Canyon National Park staff and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
The agencies conducted helicopter searches of the North Kaibab Trail and the Colorado River from the mouth of Bright Angel Creek to Deer Creek Narrows Sunday, but no missing individuals were found, Baird told the Times.
David Gregory, who was hiking with a small group when the flooding hit, was evacuated by helicopter and taken to a local high school before being set up with a hotel room for the night.
“We realized the creek near camp was black with debris and flowing rapidly,” he told CNN.
Parth Desai scrambled into a patch of cacti after his colleague shouted “up, up, up, up” as a 4-foot wall of debris rushed toward them in the Phantom Ranch area. His group was later rescued by helicopter.
“We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” Desai told the Associated Press.
Christopher Dry, from Arizona, was hiking along higher ground with his son when they saw a bolt of lightning followed by rain and “zero visibility” just minutes later. “The clouds actually form below and rose up out of the canyon quickly,” he told CNN.
The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who may have been in the affected area to contact the agency’s tip line.
A series of storms impacted the Grand Canyon beginning early Saturday morning and returning in the evening. About 1 inch of rain has been recorded over the past 24 hours.
The flooding, which began at approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday, resulted in significant damage to infrastructure throughout the Bright Angel Canyon area, according to the National Park Service.
“Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the federal agency said.
The powerful floodwaters also widened the creek bed, forming what appeared to be a new river rapid, The Associated Press reported.
The Bright Angel Trail is the most popular hiking trail into the canyon, according to the park service.
The Colorado River was closed to river traffic Sunday due to metal structures and debris flowing down the river.
Wieke De Boer decided to turn back to her campsite after it started raining during her early morning hike Saturday, she told CNN. A creek beside the trail was flowing rapidly, and muddy water was cascading over rocks and into her path.
De Boer said she then hunkered down in her tent and used her foot to keep it from blowing away as water poured in and the storm passed through her campsite.
“When I stepped out to assess the damage and see if I could move it or stake it down better, the rangers came to tell me to evacuate,” De Boer said.
PJ Hennigan, who was hiking the South Kaibab Trail at around 4 a.m. Saturday, told CNN he noticed lightning and thunder from beyond the canyon.
At sunrise, Hennigan said he was at a “tip off point” where he could see a storm forming. As he continued walking, he saw a trail wash out and found himself in “ankle-deep water rushing down.”
“I kept going as fast as I could and eventually it let up and I was able to make it to the top,” he said.
Showers on Sunday were mostly confined to the north side of the canyon, where rainfall rates of up to 1 inch per hour were observed. More showers and thunderstorms are possible Monday and a flood watch is in effect through Monday evening.
Additional rainfall could bring more “debris flows, rockfall and changing trail and river conditions,” rangers said.
The Grand Canyon is a mile deep, and the national park encompasses 278 miles of the Colorado River, according to the National Park Service. The park is renowned for its iconic geologic and erosional landscape, featuring rocks as old as 1.8 billion years and volcanic deposits dating back five million years.
The park saw more than 400,000 visitors last month, and more than 4.4 million people visited in 2025, according to the federal agency.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Laura Sharman and Karina Tsui contributed to this report.
