One person died and roughly 15 others were reported missing or unaccounted for after a severe flash flood tore through a section of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Park Service.
The flood hit the area near Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch. By Sunday morning, park staff and the Arizona Department of Public Safety had evacuated more than 60 individuals from the affected zone.
Search and recovery teams located the body of a 46-year-old man along the Colorado River near Crystal Rapids on Sunday evening. The National Park Service has not released additional identifying details at this time.
In an official statement, the park service announced that Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, the Phantom Ranch Canteen, and all associated cabins are closed until further notice. The closure also extends to the entire North Kaibab Trail from the trailhead down to Phantom Ranch.
Park officials have issued a separate appeal to the public, asking anyone with information to come forward. They are specifically seeking details about hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday, as well as individuals who held campground reservations within the affected area.
The flood was powerful enough to push massive boulders into the Colorado River and destroy the area’s primary water pipeline, which normally serves up to 6 million annual visitors and approximately 1,600 local residents. The pipeline had been undergoing a $208 million rehabilitation project since 2023. Starting Monday, overnight accommodations at the park’s lodges and hotels will be suspended, and residents are being urged to conserve water.
Nearly every footbridge crossing Bright Angel Creek was also wiped out by the rushing water. Additionally, the Colorado River has been closed to river traffic until further notice as officials work to clear metal structures and debris that have washed into the waterway.
According to Justin Johndrow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, between half an inch and one inch of rain fell within a roughly 30-minute window. The storm hit a rocky region characterized by a sharp drop in elevation, causing the water to surge rapidly downhill.
“Most of it ran off instantly,” Johndrow noted.
He explained that the flooding originated on the north side of the Grand Canyon, where Bright Angel Creek descends from the North Rim to the Colorado River, falling approximately 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) along its course.
Forecasters warn that additional rain and thunderstorms remain possible in the region through Monday.