Two people are dead and over a dozen remain missing after heavy rains and flash floods ripped through the Grand Canyon on Saturday — the deadliest incident in the park in nearly 70 years.
Severe storms continue to batter southern Utah and northern Arizona, turning neighborhoods and towns into arenas of crisis, including flipping over two dozen railroad cars in Millard County.
There was significant flash flooding in and around Zion National Park on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy storm lifted the flow of the Virgin River Monday afternoon. Experts are warning locals to stay alert, as more rain may come.
Salt Lake City’s National Weather Service released a statement Sunday stating there was a moderate risk — Level 3 out of 4 — for excessive rainfall leading to flash flooding Monday in southeastern Utah. The highest risks extend from the Northern San Rafael Swell and into the Uinta Basin.
The NWS says the heaviest rain will be in the afternoon and early evening.
The Grand Canyon
As of Sunday morning, two individuals have been confirmed dead and up to 20 others are missing or unaccounted for following floods that are shaping up to be the deadliest incident in the Grand Canyon since a midair collision in the 1950s.
The park is asking the public to provide information for the individuals who may be missing since the floods began Saturday.
Sixty-two other hikers have been airlifted and evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, according to the National Park Service, with more individuals scheduled to be evacuated.
About half an inch to an inch of rain fell within just half an hour in the canyon — where there’s a steep drop in elevation — CBS News reported. The floods resulted in significant impacts to infrastructure throughout the canyon.
“Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the National Park Service said. “Grand Canyon National Park staff are continuing to assess damage to trails, bridges, utilities, facilities and other infrastructure.”
The flood also damaged the Transcanyon Waterline, leaving those near the canyon waterless, relying only on reserves. The park has asked residents and visitors to limit showers to five minutes or less, turn off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth and washing laundry in full loads.
The Colorado River is also currently closed until further notice — after it filled with metal structures and debris from the mudslides.
Millard County
In Millard County in central Utah, storms, rains and hail ripped the roof off a resident’s house.
Some residents aren’t calling it a storm — they’re calling it a tornado.
Dan Wilde, a local resident, shot a video of the forming tornado or funnel cloud, just 15 miles west of Delta on Saturday.
“It’s spinning,” he noted, in awe at how fast the funnel was growing.
Millard County Sheriff Steve O’Camb posted on Facebook about the aftermath, walking around the town of Lynndyl. “We just had a crazy storm cell blow through here,” he said.
Panning his phone, O’Camb showed an entire row of railroad cars — what he said totaled about 34 — that were flipped on their sides off the tracks. The various trees and debris blown over in the storm onto state roads are making for a difficult medical response, he explained.
“We’re just in our assessment phase of this natural disaster that came through, so we’ll have more details that are coming up. We get medical, fire, deputies and highway patrol in the area,” he said. “So it’s all hands on deck here in the Lynndyl-Leamington area of Millard County.”
A tornado survey team visited Lynndyl Saturday morning to investigate. Community members gathered at Lynndyl City Park to help with cleanup efforts.
Emery County
In Emery County, the National Weather Service advised residents to prepare for storms throughout Monday — storms that have “the potential to be a once-in-a-lifetime event in magnitude with periods of heavy rainfall and flash flooding, possibly worse than what we experienced Saturday,” said county Sheriff Tyson Huntington.
He said the county had come together in solidarity.
“We have seen an amazing response to the flooding we experienced in parts of Emery County yesterday,” said Huntington, after community volunteers spent the weekend filling sandbags.
The Red Cross and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have also established shelters in the area — available to anyone who has been evacuated. The Emery County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team are also on the scene assisting.