Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Hundreds Plucked From Grand Canyon Flood

Campers caught as dam breaks

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 17, 2008 10:39 PM CDT
Email

(Newser) – Hundreds of tourists, along with members of the Havasupai Native American tribe, were rescued from the Grand Canyon today after a dam broke causing serious flooding. About 300 people were rescued by helicopter over a 10-hour period after the Redlands Dam, south of the village of Supai, and 220 miles northwest of Phoenix, was breached, the Arizona Republic reports.

A river near the village swelled by as much as 8 feet. "We've had two days of very heavy rains from thunderstorms [that] dropped significant moisture over that area," said  a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff. "That's what caused the dam to become overtopped and breached."

A National Park Service rescuer plucks a rafter from the Grand Canyon and lowers him to safety.
A National Park Service rescuer plucks a rafter from the Grand Canyon and lowers him to safety.   (AP Photo/National Park Service)
A National Park Service rescuer is lowered over the Havasu Creek and Colorado River where one of 16 stranded rafters is waiting to be pulled out.
A National Park Service rescuer is lowered over the Havasu Creek and Colorado River where one of 16 stranded rafters is waiting to be pulled out.   (AP Photo/National Park Service)
A National Park Service rescuer is lowered over the Havasu Creek and the Colorado River where one of 16 stranded rafters is waiting to be plucked out.
A National Park Service rescuer is lowered over the Havasu Creek and the Colorado River where one of 16 stranded rafters is waiting to be plucked out.   (AP Photo/National Park Service)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Heavy rains breach dam, force hundreds to evacuate
Associated Press

Woman survives fall at Grand Canyon
KPHO

Boy Scouts evacuated near Grand Canyon
Star-Ledger

US

 
National Weather Service • Grand Canyon • National Park Service • Havasupai • Supai • Bureau of Indian Affairs • Redlands Dam • Blackhawk helicopter • Havasu Creek • Colorado River • Grand Canyon National Park • Department of Public Safety

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne