Update August 2nd. This Red Cross Shelter has been closed, due to lack of participation by evacuees.
The American Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter is mobilizing this afternoon to open a shelter for residents of Supai Village in the Grand Canyon. Approximately 500 members of the Havasupai Tribe have been asked by safety officials to evacuate due to flooding that knocked out a water well pump and its backup generator. The flooding also resulted in a break in a sewage line.
The Red Cross will manage a shelter starting later today at the Hualapai Tribal Administration Multi-purpose Building, 470 Hualapai Way in Peach Springs, Arizona. Red Cross volunteers and staff are driving to the remote area from Mohave, Yavapai, Coconino and Maricopa counties. They are en route now. At this time, approximately 30 evacuees have registered for sheltering with tribal leadership. More are expected.
Red Cross will work with emergency management officials and tribal leaders as well as other agencies to provide sheltering, food, water and support to evacuees. Red Cross will also provide photos and more information as soon as it is available. We anticipate that will be about 9 pm.
Water and Power Cut off in Area, Potable Water Delivered by Helicopter; St. Mary’s asks for Public Donations to Replenish the Food Bank’s Supplies
Phoenix, AZ – Serving its role as a first responder to Arizona disaster situations, St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance has been asked by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to send a truckload of more than 30,000 bottles of drinking water to aid flooding victims of the Havasupai Nation near the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona.
Recent torrential rains and flooding have cut off both electrical power and the potable water supply to the more than 500 residents of the Havasupai Nation. The water pumps in the remote area are operated by generators and the water lines in the villages have also been compromised. Once the power is restored to the generators and the water begins to flow – and there is currently no estimation of when that will happen— it will take approximately 3-5 days for water testing to determine if the water is again safe to drink.
The water bound for the Havasupai nation will leave St. Mary’s main warehouse (2831 North 31st Avenue) at approximately 4 a.m. Wednesday morning for the six-hour drive to Fredonia, AZ. The water will be taken from there, by helicopter, to the Havasupai Nation.
St. Mary’s water reserves were already very low due to the above-average summer temperatures we have experienced in the Valley, and this emergency delivery will further deplete those reserves. The Food Bank is asking for donations of bottled water during the month of August to replenish supplies and insure our more than 300 partner agencies around the state will have enough drinking water for the hot months still ahead.
Water donations are accepted at St. Mary’s Food Bank locations in Phoenix (2831 N. 31st Avenue) and Surprise (13050 W. Elm Street) as well as all Goodwill store locations in the Valley. Monetary donations can also be made at www.firstfoodbank.org, with every two-dollar donation allowing the Food Bank to purchase a case of water.