Grand Canyon Flooding Forces Evacuations, Searches (Update2)
source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aYtR2v3mOEqw&refer=us
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Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Rescuers in northern Arizona are searching for campers missing in an area of Grand Canyon National Park that was overwhelmed by floodwaters over the weekend.
Authorities resumed searches and evacuations this morning after suspending them last night because of darkness and dangerous terrain, Gerry Blair, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, said in a telephone interview. Fewer than 20 people, all of them tourists, are missing, Blair said.
The Redlands Earthen Dam broke after storms on Aug. 16, sending floodwaters down Cataract Canyon into Havasu Canyon, an area about 75 miles (121 kilometers) west of Grand Canyon Village on the park's South Rim, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
The flooding forced the evacuation of about 170 people by helicopter, including some of about 200 visitors at a campground and residents of Supai Village, a community of about 400 Havasupai Indians in the canyon. The area, in the Havasupai Indian Reservation, is a popular destination for campers and hikers because of its waterfalls.
Another 80 campers and about 40 villagers who asked to be evacuated are expected to be airlifted from the canyon today, said park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge.
`Extreme Conditions'
``We had some pretty extreme conditions down there yesterday and the day before, so certainly we want to find them and make sure they're OK,'' Blair said. ``Things have calmed down there a bit. We're not receiving any reports of rainfall today, so that's a good thing and that should help our evacuation efforts.''
There are about 650 enrolled members of the Havasupai Tribe, about 450 of whom live in Supai, according to the tribe's Web site. Its name means ``people of the blue-green waters,'' according to Grand Canyon National Park.
Visitors to Havasupai Canyon must register with the tribe at the entrance and pay a fee before the 9-mile trip into the canyon, Blair said. Most of those who were registered when the floodwaters came were evacuated to an American Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, although rescuers will search today for less than 20 tourists who were unaccounted for, he said. No injuries were reported.
Authorities resumed searches and evacuations this morning after suspending them last night because of darkness and dangerous terrain, Gerry Blair, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, said in a telephone interview. Fewer than 20 people, all of them tourists, are missing, Blair said.
The Redlands Earthen Dam broke after storms on Aug. 16, sending floodwaters down Cataract Canyon into Havasu Canyon, an area about 75 miles (121 kilometers) west of Grand Canyon Village on the park's South Rim, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
The flooding forced the evacuation of about 170 people by helicopter, including some of about 200 visitors at a campground and residents of Supai Village, a community of about 400 Havasupai Indians in the canyon. The area, in the Havasupai Indian Reservation, is a popular destination for campers and hikers because of its waterfalls.
Another 80 campers and about 40 villagers who asked to be evacuated are expected to be airlifted from the canyon today, said park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge.
`Extreme Conditions'
``We had some pretty extreme conditions down there yesterday and the day before, so certainly we want to find them and make sure they're OK,'' Blair said. ``Things have calmed down there a bit. We're not receiving any reports of rainfall today, so that's a good thing and that should help our evacuation efforts.''
There are about 650 enrolled members of the Havasupai Tribe, about 450 of whom live in Supai, according to the tribe's Web site. Its name means ``people of the blue-green waters,'' according to Grand Canyon National Park.
Visitors to Havasupai Canyon must register with the tribe at the entrance and pay a fee before the 9-mile trip into the canyon, Blair said. Most of those who were registered when the floodwaters came were evacuated to an American Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, although rescuers will search today for less than 20 tourists who were unaccounted for, he said. No injuries were reported.
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- tags:
- Grand Canyon, Evacuations
