Rescue efforts resume after Grand Canyon area flooding

[ben_meyers]

Bring back the drought! Now we have too much water.

PEACH SPRINGS - Helicopters resumed evacuating tourists and residents Monday morning from the bottom of a canyon where heavy rains and a breached dam have caused flooding.

Authorities also report they are searching for 20 campers and tourists who remain unaccounted for, said Gerry Blair, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff's Department. He said it's possible those people may have already left but authorities would assume they were still in the canyon until that could be determined.

There are so far no reports of injuries or deaths.

As much as 8 inches of rain had fallen since Friday, causing trouble even before the dam burst. A private boating party of 16 people was stranded on a ledge at the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River on Saturday night, after floodwaters carried their rafts away, Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/08/18/20080818canyonflood-on-CP.html

Our resovoirs are also so full that they are releasing water into the Salt River system. I also have a great crop of weeds in my xeroscape yard, I may plant grass again!

See this from friday's lake level report.

http://www.srpwater.com/dwr/report.asp?dt=8/18/2008

[Island Blue]

1. Has McCain visited Arizona since the flooding began?

Just wondering. Seems like maybe something a sitting US senator should do when his state has been hit by a natural disaster such as this. (I'm guessing "no" btw.)

[Warpy]

2. NM sympathizes

Our drought broke 2 years ago with 6 weeks of daily torrential rains.

We don't have a Grand Canyon, but we did have a lot of brand new housing developments where a crooked and/or stupid developer thought it was a great idea to fill in arroyos in order to give the houses bigger side or back yards. When our drought broke, a lot of homeowners got a very ugly surprise when those arroyos re formed.

Flood patterns are a very big deal in the desert southwest.

[kestrel91316]

3. Has Lake Mead filled back up yet?

More importantly, have the hundreds of disappearing glaciers come back?

[ben_meyers]

4. Funny you should ask

I'm sure that you understand the dynamics of the Colorado river basin and its reservoirs, Lake Powell is being allowed to fill 1st, and then Lake Mead.

There was a real nice report a few days ago...

Lake Powell rebounds
Wettest winter in a decade raises water level to 6-year high(snip)

Under the new operating guidelines, when Lake Powell reaches target levels, the bureau will release water into Lake Mead until it reaches its own target. The process is called equalization, and it is meant to share the benefits of the river's flow.

Bureau officials expect Lake Mead to reach its target level this fall.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/08/05/20080805drought-lake0805.html

I'll report my own observations in a few weeks after our annual trip to Powell.

[kestrel91316]

5. As much as I loathe Vegas, I don't want to see Lake Mead go bone dry.

Then all those former Angelenos populating Clark County will just come back HERE.......

[ben_meyers]

6. I know what you mean

They have messed up Phoenix too.