‘Wall of Water’: How fast, severe the flooding in Havasupai Falls was

SUPAI, AZ (AZFamily) — New numbers show just how fast and severe the flooding was in the Havasupai Falls area in the Grand Canyon that killed one woman and left dozens of people stranded.

Up to two inches of rain fell in Supai, and just up the road in Cataract Canyon, up to three inches of rain dropped in about 90 minutes.

While the stream gauge at Supai was down, the weather gauge at Cataract Creek showed at 12:45 p.m. that water was only one-foot high.

Fifteen minutes later, the water level was at eight feet.

The gauge said the creek was at flood stage for roughly 24 hours.

Cataract Creek turns into Havasu Creek, which drains 3,000 square miles in northern Arizona, which is about a third the size of Maricopa County. The stream almost makes it all the way to Williams.

A side canyon was also filled with lots of water and contributed to the Cataract Creek.

More than 100 Havasupai Tribe members and tourists were evacuated after the National Guard was called in to help.

A Gilbert woman was swept away in the flood waters and her body was found on Sunday.

The Havasupai Tribe doesn’t have a severe weather warning system in place.

Thursday’s flooding was likely the worst since the 1990s.

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