Dam break forces evacuations in Arizona
PHOENIX - 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.
The failure of the Redlands Dam caused some flooding in the village of Supai, where about 400 members of the Havasupai tribe live, said Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge.
Heavy rain caused 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 flood waters carried their rafts away, Oltrogge said.
