Death Toll Rises to 18 As Utah Recovers From Flash Floods

Mayor Philip Barlow says the casualties serve as a wake-up call and reality check for a community accustomed to flash floods. The last body recovered was found 6 1/2 miles from where the two cars, a van and an SUV carrying 16 people, were swept away.

Authorities say searchers have found the body of a fifth hiker killed in flash flooding that swept through a narrow canyon at Utah’s Zion National Park.

The park service regularly warns people about the possibility of flash floods, according to the park Facebook page.

However, rangers don’t actually close canyons until the NWS indicates flooding is imminent, Picard said, noting that during the late summer monsoons flood warnings are frequent but it is impossible to predict early where storms will hit or how hard.

One of the children who survived deadly flash flooding in a small polygamous town on the Utah-Arizona border told an official he escaped by cutting through an air bag, climbing out a window and jumping off the roof of a vehicle.

“Our gratitude (is) beyond words for the kindness and support that we’ve received”.

“Our heartfelt sympathies go out to those affected by the flash flooding in Keyhole Canyon”, Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh said Thursday night.

“As we look forward to the days ahead, our grief and sorrow is now met with extermination from our homes”, Black said.

The names of the seven victims, who ranged in age from their mid-40s to mid-50s, were being kept confidential until next of kin were notified.

Authorities are searching for a man who has been missing since Monday, when flood waters hit the Arizona-Utah border.

“This is my son; the only survivor from my family”, Joseph Jessop said. “I want to express to the sheriff and law enforcement, so very much from the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping rescue our children and family members”.

The flash flood happened when a storm unleashed 1 to 2 inches of rain in the area in less than an hour, said Michael Conger, the lead forecaster for the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office. The creek that separates Hildale from Colorado City quickly filled leaving the water to flow into the streets and wash several vehicles into the waterways.

Debris carried by the flash flood apparently helped push the water dozens of feet outside the streambed, sending the water behind the vehicles and sweeping them downstream as the flood carved a 35-foot chasm in the ground. Only three children survived.

The deaths came after 12 people died when fast-moving floodwaters on Monday swept away two vehicles on the Utah-Arizona border, about 20 miles south of the park.

The third child was thrown out of the vehicle he was in.

Monday’s weather event was like a bucket of water being poured onto a rock – it slid right off and began running downstream, picking up sediment to create the forceful, muddy mess that rushed through the city, McInerney said.

The Utah National Guard and a team of searchers who once combed through the World Trade Center towers after September 11 are still looking for a missing 6-year-old boy who was among the 16 people in two cars that were swept up Monday by swift water, mud and debris in a canyon.

Officials at Zion National Park in southern Utah are expected to speak to reporters Wednesday about four hikers found dead and three still missing after heavy rains sent flash floods coursing through a narrow slot canyon.

In nearby Zion National Park, four people were also killed and three others are still missing and presumed dead.