Deadly floods devastate Southwest
Flash floods in Utah killed at least 18 people in Hildale, Utah and Zion National park in the southern part of the state, September 15, 2015.
Seven hikers who entered a narrow desert canyon became trapped when a flash flood filled the chasm, killing at least six in Zion National Park. In Hildale two vehicles were engulfed killing at least twelve people. Three people in the vehicles survived and one child remains missing September 17. One of the children who survived reported that he escaped by cutting through an air bag in a vehicle and climbing out a window.
In this photo, a woman looks at a damaged vehicle swept away during the flash flood. A van and SUV carrying three women and 13 children were sucked downstream in turbulent water.
Deadly Flash Floods
Search and rescue team members place a litter in a net for helicopter transport after finding a body in Pine Creek on Wednesday, September 16, 2015, in Zion National Park, near Springdale, Utah. Authorities are searching for other hikers killed in flash flooding that swept through a narrow canyon at Utah's Zion National Park.
Deadly Flash Floods
People walk pass a severely damaged vehicle swept away by a surge of water during a flood Tuesday, September 15, 2015, in Hildale, Utah. The floodwater swept away multiple vehicles in the Utah-Arizona border town, killing several people.
Deadly Flash Floods
A man looks on as crews clear mud and debris from a road following a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, September 15, 2015.
Deadly Flash Floods
A member of the search and rescue team scans a stream after a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, September 15, 2015.
A wall of water swept away two vehicles carrying women and children in a Utah-Arizona border town. Crews worked to clear thousands of tons of mud and debris from the sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.
Deadly Flash Floods
People look on as crews clear mud and debris from a road following a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona on Tuesday, September 15, 2015.
The raging torrents of water are not uncommon in an area prone to flash floods, but the volume and pace of the rain was a "100-year event," said Brian McInerney, hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.
Deadly Flash Floods
Residents watch rescuers search along the Short Creek after a flash flood in Hildale, Utah on September 15, 2015. The flash floods were triggered by heavy rain in nearby canyons.
Deadly Flash Floods
A vehicle rests in debris after a flash flood in Hildale, Utah, September 14, 2015.
Deadly Flash Floods
Debris and water cover the ground after a flash flood in Hildale, Utah on Monday, September 14, 2015.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says he's heartbroken to hear about the flash flooding and said in a statement Tuesday morning that Utah was offering all state resources to help the towns with the search and rescue effort.
Residents called it the worst flood in memory for the community. The sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, are 315 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Deadly Flash Floods
People walk past damaged vehicles swept away during a flash flood in Hildale, Utah, on Tuesday, September 15, 2015. The floodwater swept away multiple vehicles in the Utah-Arizona border town.
Deadly Flash Floods
People look on as crews clear mud and debris from a road following a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
The floods came after heavy rains fell in the canyons just north of the towns, sending waves of water barreling through the streets. The towns sit at the foot of picturesque red rock cliffs about 315 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Deadly Flash Floods
Crews clear mud and debris from a road following a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning earlier in the day, leading nearby Zion National Park to close all slot canyons as a precaution.
Deadly Flash Floods
People look over debris and the remains of a car following a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Sept. 15, 2015.
Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Barlow said he didn't know if residents were aware of the warning issued by the National Weather Service.
Members of the sect, whose members believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven, are believed to be discouraged from watching TV, using the Internet or having much contact with the outside world.
Deadly Flash Floods
People look on as crews clear mud and debris from a road following a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
The search effort temporarily eased the tension between followers of Warren Jeffs and nonmembers who still live there.
That split between loyalists who still believe Jeffs is a victim of religious persecution and defectors who are embracing government efforts to pull the town into modern society has sharpened in the four years since Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting underage girls he considered brides.
Deadly Flash Floods
People look on as crews clear mud and debris from a road following a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
The community is a patchwork of upscale, elegant residences surrounded by large walls and unfinished, dilapidated houses that remain just as they were in the early 2000s, when Jeffs ordered that all construction stop in Utah to focus on building his compound in Texas.
Deadly Flash Floods
A member of a search and rescue team scans a stream after a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
Officials say the bodies of two people killed in flash flooding in southern Utah were recovered in Arizona about two and a half miles downstream, while the bodies of six others were recovered in Utah. Crews worked Tuesday morning to clear thousands of tons of mud and debris from the sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.
Deadly Flash Floods
Members of a search and rescue team search look a spillway after a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
Deadly Flash Floods
Community members search along a stream after a flash flood in Colorado City, Arizona, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015.
Deadly Flash Floods
Residents look down on estimated 50-foot deep gorge created when flash flood hit Hildale, Utah on September 15, 2015