Utah man captures extreme flooding in Havasu Falls area of Arizona

HAVASUPAI VILLAGE, Az— Epic flooding hit the Havasu Falls area, and a Utahn documented the conditions while he fled with his group to safety. Corey Middleton told KSL TV he and his group had gone to the area Thursday for a three-night, four-day hiking trip, and then rains hit and triggered large-scale flash flooding. “I don’t even know how to describe it,” Middleton said as he awaited a helicopter flight Friday evening from Havasupai Village. “It didn’t even look like the same place. There was so much water.”

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Middleton said his group had set tents and a picnic table closer to the creek near Mooney Falls when the rains started. “One of the park rangers came by and said you’ve got to move to higher ground right now,” Middleton said. Soon, the area transformed, and Middleton pulled out his camera to capture the views. “We started to look up, and there were waterfalls everywhere, cascading down the canyon walls,” Middleton said. “We got back up to where Havasu Falls was, and at that point, it was just—it looked like a chocolate waterfall.”The flooding proved to be extensive, making the retreat from the area treacherous in spots on the way to Havasupai Village. There, he said, locals gave his group shelter inside a school.

He simply couldn’t believe his hiking trip turned into the harrowing journey that it was.

“I’ve always wanted to see that—the rain producing all those waterfalls off the canyon walls,” Middleton said. “I never wanted to be in it.”

According to Middleton, as many as 100 tourists were still awaiting a helicopter flight out of the area Friday evening as National Guard helicopters from Tucson and Phoenix assisted. The National Park Service reported that the flood swept away an Arizona woman, and she is still missing. [gallery ids="674774,674773,674772,674771,674770,674769,674768"]

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