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Turquoise waters of Havasu Falls return a week after damaging flash floods

The Havasupai Tribe Tourism Facebook page posted three photos of the waterfall back to its original state.
Credit: Havasupai Tribe Tourism/Latricia Mimbs

SUPAI, Ariz. — The beautiful blue-green waters of Havasu Falls that bring in tens of thousands of tourists a year have returned a week after damaging flash flooding in Havasu Canyon. 

The Havasupai Tribe Tourism Facebook page posted three photos of the waterfall after it returned to its original state. 

One week after the flood and the blue-green waters are returning. Resilience is all around us.

Posted by Havasupai Tribe Tourism on Friday, August 30, 2024

During the flooding, dark brown water flowed into Havasu Creek. 

Credit: Latricia Mimbs

One woman was killed and hundreds were stranded after the flash flood. 

Chenoa Nickerson and her husband, who are from Gilbert, were half a mile above the Colorado River confluence Thursday when they were swept away by the fast-moving flood waters, according to the National Park Service. Nickerson's husband was rescued by a group of rafters but was unable to find his 33-year-old wife. 

Her body was found about 20 miles downriver on Sunday. 

The Arizona National Guard was able to help rescue more than 100 people after the flooding destroyed parts of Havasupai Creek. 

Abbie Fink, a spokesperson for the Havasupai Tribe, told 12News the flooding caused extensive damage to the trail leading into Supai and much of the village including common and public areas. 

 "The campground suffered considerable damage. That's where the vast majority of the water flow was," Fink explained. "So it's unsafe to be in there right now and travel."

Fink said tribal members are still in Supai and are "safe either in their homes or in other buildings in the village."

"Our tribal members have been accounted for, and now we are focusing on getting supplies into Supai for those that are still living there," Fink said. "[We are] working with emergency systems across the state and federal to begin the assessment on The repair of all the damage that's been done." 

Fink said the damages would still need to be evaluated moving forward. 

"We have to ensure the safety of all of the, you know, the infrastructure, for the trails, for the buildings, everything that needs to be evaluated," Fink said. "That's going to take some time, and we want to make sure we take the right amount of time to make sure that we do it correctly."

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