Home - CBSNews.com
· collected 2026-08-31 · by Duarte Dias, Kiki Intarasuwan, Lucia I Suarez Sang
One man was found dead and some 15 people were still believed to be missing Monday morning in Grand Canyon National Park after parts of the canyon were hit by major flash floods over the weekend.
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parts → find → weekend
The raging waters swept boulders, infrastructure and other debris into the Colorado River after a storm dropped a huge amount of precipitation in a very short period of time, officials said.
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officials → rag → time
The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids on the Colorado River, the National Park Service said, without providing any additional information.
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Service → recover → information
The NPS called for anyone who knew of hikers or backpackers who were in Bright Angel Canyon or the Phantom Ranch area on Saturday afternoon, when the flash floods hit, to provide information to park authorities.
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floods → call → authorities
"Grand Canyon National Park staff, in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, are continuing evacuation and response efforts and working to account for individuals who may have been in the affected area," NPS said in a statement.
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NPS → continue → statement
Authorities were also searching for anyone who may have been on the North Kaibab Trail, between the trailhead and Phantom Ranch, staying at Bright Angel Campground, or traveling or staying in the area known as "the Box," north of Phantom Ranch.
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who → search → Ranch
Park officials told CBS News overnight that at least 15 people were still missing, though a spokesperson stressed earlier that the figure was subject to change as more information became available.
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information → tell → change
Dozens evacuated amid "extensive damage" to infrastructure
At least 62 people were evacuated from the hard-hit areas in the sprawling national park after the flooding caused significant damage, officials said.
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officials → evacuate → damage
"Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating pedestrian access across the creek," NPS said in an earlier statement.
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NPS → span → statement
Officials said Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, Phantom Ranch Canteen, the North Kaibab Trail, the Black and Silver bridges and traffic to the Colorado River in the area would be closed until further notice.
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Ranch → say → notice
About half an inch to an inch of rain fell within just half an hour in the rocky area, where there's a steep drop in elevation, said National Weather Service meteorologist Justin Johndrow in Flagstaff.
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Johndrow → fall → Flagstaff
"Most of it ran off instantly," Johndrow told The Associated Press.
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Johndrow → run → Press
The National Park Service said the flooding caused "extensive damage to infrastructure in the inner canyon, including the Transcanyon Waterline, which supplies water from the canyon for use in the park.
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which → say → park
"
"The waterline is currently not operational, leaving the park with limited water reserves and requiring significant water conservation measures to ensure available supplies can be maintained," NPS said.
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NPS → leave → measures
Park officials asked people to stay away from the closed areas and said the operator of the lodge, which is usually fully booked months in advance, will inform guests about the state of their reservations.
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which → ask → reservations
Grand Canyon National Park is ranked the fourth-most visited national park in the U.S., with 4,430,653 recreational visits in 2025.
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Park → rank → 2025
Gabe Bergemann was with his family at Phantom Ranch when he said what looked "like a whole monsoon basically hit the campground in the cabins area."
They were among about 60 people told to flee from their cabins and across a footbridge as the water rose.
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water → say → footbridge
"It was just like these brown, almost like black waters, filled with debris," he told CBS News.
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he → fill → News
"On that bridge, that was when it hit …
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it → hit → bridge
I actually became scared and I didn't know — I didn't know it was gonna happen."
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it → become → ?
David Gregory was traveling with Bergemann's family and said the flood destroyed the footbridge only about 10 minutes after they all managed to get across.
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they → travel → footbridge
Hours later they were flown to safety by a helicopter.
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they → fly → helicopter
If the park ranger hadn't ordered everybody to evacuate when they did, Gregory said all the campers could have been left trapped on the other side of the swollen creek.
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campers → order → creek
"It was like a whirlpool in there, with all the debris circling around, cabins and other equipment from the maintenance work site," he said.
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he → circle → site
"I don't think we would have made it out alive …
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we → think → it
I think it would have been game over."
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it → think → ?
Officials also warned that additional thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are possible Sunday and Monday, which could "result in additional flash flooding, debris flows, rockfall and rapidly changing trail and river conditions.
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which → warn → flooding
"
"This is a reminder of what a dynamic and active landscape [the] Grand Canyon is," Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, told AP.
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Schmidt → tell → AP
A flood watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for all of northern and central Arizona through Monday evening, NWS Flagstaff said.
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Flagstaff → issue → evening
"Flash flooding will be possible in creeks, normally dry washes, swimming holes, and over recently burned areas," the NWS alert said.
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alert → burn → areas
Low-water crossings may be flooded."
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crossings → flood → ?
Showers and thunderstorms are also expected through Monday.
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Showers → expect → Monday
The area's already-saturated soils and "deep monsoonal moisture" increase the risk of flash flooding, according to forecasters.
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soils → saturate → forecasters
