One dead, others saved after flash flood in the Grand Canyon

A flash flood in the Grand Canyon this week left a Michigan woman dead while others had to be rescued from dangerous waters, the National Park Service said Friday.

The flood that hit the Tatahatso camp on the Colorado River on Wednesday night left several people injured and two were missing, officials said.

The next day, one of the missing was found alive and unharmed, but the second, Rebecca Copeland, 29, of Ann Arbor, was deceased, the park service said. They were found by people on a commercial trip on the river.

The group caught in the flash flood consisted of around 30 people on a rafting trip on the river, and they had pulled out of the river to camp on Wednesday evening, a park spokesperson said.

After the flash flood, five injured people were evacuated by helicopter, the park service said.

Flash floods are a danger in the southwest desert as the environment cannot absorb much rain and water drains into canyons and steep terrain, he said.

Arizona experienced monsoon rains that caused flooding in parts of the state, including Flagstaff, where heavy rains fell on a wildfire scar and caused flooding.

Local authorities had to issue shelter-in-place warnings due to the danger. No deaths in the Flagstaff flood have been reported.

Governor Doug Ducey issued an emergency declaration in Coconino County on Friday, which includes Flagstaff, which will provide state aid.

The monsoon season in northern Arizona, which is a change in wind that brings humid air to the area, officially runs from June 15 to September 30. It most commonly causes afternoon and evening thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.

The Flagstaff region has just experienced two of its driest monsoon seasons, which occurred in 2020 and 2019. Monsoon rains can account for half of the region’s annual precipitation and fill reservoirs, according to the weather service.

The Associated Press contributed.