August 20, 2008 01:44am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
ELEVEN hikers remain unaccounted for after flash flooding that deluged a remote Grand Canyon village on an Indian reservation.
Chris English, a spokesman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, told the Arizona Republic newspaper that the 11 hikers could have been swept downstream or could have already left the region.
Authorities from the US National Park Service and the bureau were combing the creek where a muddy, raging torrent caused by days of heavy rain swept through Havasu Canyon on Sunday.
"They're looking for people that may be up trees or on cliffs," English told the Arizona Republic. "We still don't have any reports of fatalities."
At least 250 campers and residents were reportedly evacuated from the Native American tribal town of Supai and the surrounding wilderness.
No injuries or major damage to Supai have been reported so far. Evacuees are being housed in a Red Cross shelter set up in the town of Peach Springs.
Among the evacuees from the flood zone were six boy scouts and three adult guides from New Jersey who were left clinging to trees after the gentle stream they had camped beside was transformed into a raging river.
Kevin Muench, who was on the trip with his two sons aged 13 and 11, told America's ABC News that large rocks and trees were swept away by the flood.
"It was unbelievable," Mr Muench said. "You'd see boulders four foot in diameter being carried down the stream, and whole trees.
"We were literally in the trees saying 'Our Father'," Mr Muench said. "We did a lot of praying ... I told the boys, it's OK to be scared, but we're going to be OK," he said.
The group was eventually airlifted to safety after clambering onto a rockface.
Supai is one of the most remote towns in the United States and is inaccessible by road. The only way into the town is by hiking over rugged wilderness or by air.
The town is the capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is home to the spectacular Havasu Falls, a prime tourist attraction.
Bottom line, the bottom of a natural watercourse is a bad, bad place to be when severe flooding happens. Granted that you don't see a dam burst every day. LAst report I saw had somewhere around 20 people confirmed dead and dozens missing.
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I know, intellectually, that this makes sense...but still, something in me just keeps running over the 'drowning in Arizona in August' concept and twitching. Somehow, I keep putting 'You've got to be fucking kidding me!' as the last thoughts of a few of those killed.
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White Haven wrote:I know, intellectually, that this makes sense...but still, something in me just keeps running over the 'drowning in Arizona in August' concept and twitching. Somehow, I keep putting 'You've got to be fucking kidding me!' as the last thoughts of a few of those killed.
Drowning in a flood in Arizona, in August, is actually a perfectly valid way to die. From around the end of June to about the middle of September, the southwestern United States experiences monsoon moisture flow from the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California. This, combined with vigorous daytime heating results in tropical-style thunderstorms, complete with heavy rain. People fall into/play in/do stupid shit in drainage channels here all the time, and wind up dead for their trouble when water comes roaring down from distant thunderstorms.
Sometimes, when you get surges of tropical air from the Gulf, the remnants of former hurricanes, or other large-scale weather disturbances pushing up moisture and instability into the region, it can get really wet really quickly.
Those canyons didn’t get carved by a trickle of water; however I cannot find the location of this Redearth Dam on Google earth or real maps, and officials are downplaying its significance in causing the flooding so I think it’s safe to assume it wasn’t much of as structure. The US is riddled with tens of thousands of small dams which are all intents and purposes abandon, some of them have the potential to cause a lot more trouble then this one did.
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11 feared missing in Grand Canyon flood are safe: police
by Staff Writers
Phoenix, Arizona (AFP) Aug 19, 2008
Eleven hikers feared missing after flash flooding that deluged a remote Grand Canyon village on an Indian reservation have been located and are safe, police said Tuesday.
A spokesman for Coconino County Sheriff's Department told AFP that the individuals had been found and were accounted for.
"It's good news. Yesterday we believed there were 11 people unaccounted for. We are confident that those 11 people have been located, identified and are safe," spokesman Gerry Blair told AFP.
Rescuers from the US National Park Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs were continuing to comb the creek where a muddy, raging torrent caused by days of heavy rain swept through Havasu Canyon, Arizona on Sunday.
Blair said most visitors to Havasu Canyon were required to sign a register before setting off for hiking and camping trips in the area. Everyone who had signed in prior to the flood had now been accounted for, he said.
"It is possible of course that some people did not check in, so with that possibility in mind we are continuing to search the creek from the air," Blair said. "So far we haven't found anyone who appears to be stranded."
Rescuers would conduct more thorough foot searches of the canyon once water levels subsided, he added.
At least 250 campers and residents were evacuated from the Native American tribal town of Supai and the surrounding wilderness. No injuries or major damage to Supai have been reported.
Evacuees are being housed in a Red Cross shelter set up in the town of Peach Springs.
Among the evacuees from the flood zone were six boy scouts and three adult guides from the state of New Jersey who were left clinging to trees after the gentle stream they had camped beside was transformed into a raging river.
Kevin Muench, who was on the trip with his two sons aged 13 and 11, told ABC News that large rocks and trees were swept away by the flood.
"It was unbelievable," Muench said. "You'd see boulders four-foot in diameter being carried down the stream, and whole trees.
"We were literally in the trees saying 'Our Father,'" Muench said. "We did a lot of praying. The group was eventually airlifted to safety after clambering onto a rockface.
Supai is one of the most remote towns in the United States and is inaccessible by road. The only way into the town is by hiking over rugged wilderness or by air.
The town is the capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is home to the spectacular Havasu Falls, a prime tourist attraction.
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