Grand Canyon tourist dies, others hurt as floods rage through Arizona, officials say

A 29-year-old tourist visiting the Grand Canyon died when a flash flood swept through Arizona, park officials said.

Two people were missing and multiple others were injured Wednesday after monsoon storms flooded the Colorado River, park officials said.

“Grand Canyon Search and Rescue sent two paramedics to the scene to assess and treat patients,” rangers said in a news release. “Active monsoonal weather in the area limited access to the scene for overnight search and rescue operations.”

At 2:30 a.m. Thursday, one person in critical condition was flown by helicopter from the flooded area. Four others in stable condition were evacuated and taken to Flagstaff Medical Center, park officials said.

At 11 a.m. , tourists on a commercial river trip found the two missing people, park officials said. One was dead and the other was uninjured..

The deceased was identified as Rebecca Copeland, a 29-year-old visiting the Grand Canyon from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“Flash floods are common in the desert southwest, including Northern Arizona,” park rangers said. “This is because the arid, sparsely vegetated environments found in these areas have little capacity to absorb rainfall.”

Flash floods swept through several parts of Arizona, including nearby Flagstaff. The National Weather Service said 2021’s monsoon season has already had more rain than the entirety of 2020.

“Well, we’ve had a fairly wet start to the monsoon,” the National Weather Service in Flagstaff said on Twitter. “The 2020 monsoon was mostly a bust vs. this year where many locations are running above normal. In fact, some locations have already had more rainfall than the entire 2020 monsoon.”

The monsoon pattern will continue through next week, according to the National Weather Service. Flash flooding can happen at any time from heavy, sudden downpours.

Take a look at the flooding in Arizona:

This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Grand Canyon tourist dies, others hurt as floods rage through Arizona, officials say."