Flash Flood That Killed at Least 12 Leaves Utah Town ‘Greatly Humbled,' Mayor Says

Authorities have confirmed that 12 people have died in flash flooding that swept away two vehicles in a town on the Utah-Arizona border.

Sgt. Brock Bentley of the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Utah confirmed Tuesday afternoon that three additional bodies have been found, bringing the death toll to 12. One person remains missing in the floodwaters, while three children survived.

The wall of water washed the vehicles several hundred yards downstream Monday afternoon. Authorities say the victims are as young as 4 years old. It's unclear if they're all from the same family.

The floods came after heavy rains fell in the canyons just north of the sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, sending waves of water barreling through the streets. The community is known as the home base for Warren Jeffs' polygamist sect.

Residents called it the worst flood in memory for the sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, which are 315 miles south of Salt Lake City at the foot of picturesque red rock cliffs. It was in this area at Maxwell Canyon where heavy rains sent water down Short Creek and barreling through the towns.

The torrent was so fast, "it was taking concrete pillars and just throwing them down, just moving them like plastic," said Lorin Holm, who called the storm the heaviest in the 58 years he's lived in the community.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says he was heartbroken to hear about the flash flooding, saying in a statement Tuesday morning that Utah was offering all state resources to help the towns with the search and rescue effort.

Herbert said he and first lady Jeanette Herbert are offering their condolences to the families of the victims, and the governor's office and Utah Department of Public Safety would work with local officials and emergency workers in the towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.

The women and children were in an SUV and a van on a gravel road north of the towns. They were returning from a park when they stopped at a flooded crossing and got out to watch the raging waters, Hildale Mayor Philip Barlow said.

What they did not know was that a flash flood was brewing in the canyon above, he said. It came rushing down and engulfed their vehicles.

"We're greatly humbled by this, but we realize that this is an act of God, and this is something we can't control," said Barlow, a Jeffs follower. "We have to take what we receive and do the best we can."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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