The Grand Canyon area braced for more rain and thunderstorms on Monday after a flash flood that left one person dead and about 15 others missing or unaccounted for – with scores of visitors evacuated and the only water pipeline for tourists and residents destroyed.
Emergency water restrictions that began on Monday prevented tourists from staying overnight at lodges and hotels within the park. Year-round residents were asked to conserve water.
A flood watch was in effect. Visiting the Grand Canyon – a crown jewel of the US national park system – can be particularly dangerous in the summer because of the risk of flash flooding that accompanies the monsoon, or rainy, 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 (NWS) said early in the day.
The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered on Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the National Park Service (NPS) said without providing additional details.
The flooding Saturday in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, led to more than 60 people being airlifted from the canyon’s depths. The park service asked anyone with details about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to get in touch. The Arizona department of public safety helped with additional evacuations on Sunday.
“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the park said in a statement.
Parth Desai was hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with fellow physicians and a park ranger when heavy rain started falling on Saturday.
“We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere,” he said.
Later, as they made their way toward Phantom Ranch, a colleague shouted “Up, Up, Up, Up!” as a 4ft (1-meter) debris wall headed toward them and they ran up into a patch of cacti, he said. They were rescued by helicopter late on Saturday after making it to the Phantom Ranch area, he said.
Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over the creek and altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and extending an existing river rapid or creating a new one. The flood was a blow to an enduring effort to modernize 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?”
Halting overnight stays at the park because of a lack of water is rare, although the pipeline frequently has failed over the years. While the Grand Canyon has large storage tanks for potable water on the South Rim, they won’t be refilled while the pipeline is out of service.
A $208m rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system started in 2023, with the park service calling it a crucial investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project was expected to be completed next year.
In unrelated flooding, officials in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday reported a pair of deaths related to a severe storm there two days earlier.
Police said a 46-year-old woman died after being caught in rushing water in San Pedro Creek north of downtown, Texas Public Radio reported. A person with that woman made it out the situation safely, police said.
Separately, police said a man in his 50s was found at Woodlawn Park on Sunday morning.
The woman’s death is being investigated as a drowning while the man’s death is considered a possible drowning, police said.
Guardian staff contributed reporting
