Video shows Grand Canyon park visitors seek refuge in cave after flash flood erupts

A cascade of muddy rainwater made Grand Canyon National Park a temporary safety hazard last week, following a devastating flash flood that left one woman dead and multiple people stranded.

The flash flood struck Havasu Canyon, a tributary canyon, about 30 miles west of Grand Canyon Village, Arizona just before 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, USA TODAY reported.  

The National Park Service “promptly” deployed resources to help hikers stranded around Beaver Falls and search for 33-year-old Chenoa Nickerson, a Gilbert, Arizona woman who was swept away. 

Nickerson’s body was found in the Colorado River on Sunday, three days after she was last seen at the river’s confluence, where it meets with the Havasu Creek. 

Over 100 people, including Carly Johnson, left stranded by the flood were airlifted out of the area by the Arizona National Guard over the last couple of days, according to reporting by The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.  

Anyone that asked to be evacuated was taken to safety by Saturday afternoon, The Republic reported. 

Joelle Baird, an NPS spokesperson, told USA TODAY on Monday that Nickerson was the only death reported in connection with the flood.  And that there were no reported injuries related to the flash flood within the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which oversees the area above Beaver Falls. 

Visitors find temporary refuge in cave

Carly Johnson was one of several people trapped in Mooney Falls when the flood hit on Thursday afternoon. The muddy water came in waves, leaving them trapped inside the canyon until they were evacuated.

A handful of people, including Johnson, decided to take refuge in a nearby cave, shielding themselves from the brown precipitation momentarily. The water can be seen enveloping the group on all sides, moving quickly and coating the surrounding area with brown sludge.

Johnson wrote on Facebook that the group she was with were the last ones to leave the area on Friday, writing in the caption that the "ladder was under water by the time we got to the top of the chains. Once we got off the chains, we saw a wall of water coming at us and were able to run into this cave."

Tourists barred from the area ‘until further notice,' tribal council says 

Havasupai Tribe Tourism took to Facebook on Friday to announce the indefinite closure of Supai Village, the community within Havasu Canyon, writing that the trail, campground and falls are “unpassable” and that the “damage was extensive.”

“Therefore, the Council has made the difficult but necessary decision to close Havasupai to tourists until further notice,” the post said. 

Abbie Fink, Havasupai Tribe spokesperson, told The Republic that “no decisions have been made yet in regards to reservations impacted by this closure.” 

Officials were set to arrive in Supai to assess the damage and to begin the process of clean up and repairs, writing that The Tribal Council’s immediate focus was the “health and safety of the tribal members and those that provide services in Supai.” 

Contributing: Julia Gomez, USA TODAY; Sam Kmack, Rey Covarrubias Jr. and Jose R. Gonzalez, Arizona Republic.