Only one person remains missing after the flash flood that left two dead over the weekend in the Grand Canyon, one of the most famous tourist sites in the western United States, national park authorities announced Monday. Previously, they had reported around fifteen people wanted.
David Black, the head of operations, announced Monday evening that a total of 82 people had been rescued from the canyon. “There is one missing person that we are aware of at the moment,” he further noted.
Earlier, national park authorities announced on X that “two bodies (had) been found” and that search operations were continuing.
But “the weather forecasts could affect the progress and pace of relief operations”, they warned, with storms and heavy rain still to be feared.
The national park, which attracts millions of tourists from all over the world each year, reported on Sunday at least one dead and around fifteen people wanted.
The national park had identified a first victim as “a 46-year-old man”, found “along the Colorado River, near Crystal Rapids”. A forensic doctor was dispatched to the scene, he added.
The National Park Service (NPS) and the American weather services have warned of the risk of a repeat of this weather phenomenon, due to thunderstorms and heavy rain which still threaten Monday. They could lead to “additional flash floods, debris flows, rockfalls,” writes the NPS.
The threat concerns “streams, usually dry stream beds, water holes and recently burned areas,” specifies the National Weather Agency (NWS) in its overnight bulletin.
A torrent of muddy water
She mentions a risk of “raging and deadly currents” in the side and narrow canyons. “The ford crossings may be flooded,” she adds. On Monday afternoon, the famous and majestic canyon appeared sometimes largely shrouded in clouds, sometimes under a dark and heavy sky, according to photos and images shot by AFP.
Flash flooding hit Bright Angel Canyon and the area of Phantom Ranch, a hotel in the lower Grand Canyon, on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of dozens of people and damaging the only water line supplying the park.
“Approximately 40%” of this pipeline “was damaged or destroyed,” according to initial findings from the national park reported Monday, and water restrictions were to be imposed from midday on visitors in its busiest area.
Videos shot over the weekend by hikers show a torrent of muddy water surging with a dull roar along a trail and under footbridges, as well as tree trunks and other debris carried by swollen rivers.
Flash floods are common in northern Arizona, where drylands absorb rain very poorly. They come in the midst of a record drought in the southwest of the United States.
The Grand Canyon, considered one of the greatest natural wonders on Earth, is the result of layers of red sandstone and other rocks being eroded by the Colorado River over millions of years. More than 4.4 million tourists visited the site in 2025, according to National Park Service figures.
