Hundreds evacuated from Grand Canyon as dam breaks

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An earthen dam weakened by heavy rains broke near the Grand Canyon early Sunday, flooding a tribal town and forcing officials to pluck hundreds of residents and campers from the gorge by helicopter. No injuries were immediately reported. About 400 members of the Havasupai tribe live in the town of Supai. The village was flooded but not submerged after the Redlands Dam broke, said Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge. Some campers and river rafters in the canyon were being rescued by seven helicopters and taken to a Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, about 97 kilometers southwest of Supai, Oltrogge said. A flash flood warning was in effect for the area until the early evening, and the National Weather Service in Flagstaff warned that more rain was possible.