(AFP) – Aug 17, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Hundreds of people were evacuated from a remote town in the Grand Canyon on Sunday after heavy rain caused an earthen dam to burst, reports said.

Local media citing the US National Park Service said between 300-400 people were evacuated from the Indian tribal village of Supai, north of Phoenix, after the Redlands Dam broke at around 6:00 am (1400 GMT) on Sunday.

No injuries were immediately reported. Some 75 campers were also evacuated from the Grand Canyon because of flooding, which followed two days of torrential rain in the region, according to local media reports.

Most of the evacuees were members of the Havasupai tribe and were being cared for at a Red Cross shelter set up at Peach Springs, around 60 miles (96 kilometers) southwest of Supai.

A Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman said the burst dam had caused extensive flooding in Supai but the town had not suffered major damage.

Emily Gerlick, a 23-year-old camper from Phoenix told the Arizona Republic she had woken in the night to find water surrounding her tent at the Supai Campground, near the region's picturesque waterfalls.

Gerlick said she and other campers were told to gather their belongings and return to Supai Village, where they were later airflifted out in a helicopter.

The camper described the floodwater as "sounding like a freight train."

Supai is one of the most remote towns in the United States and is inaccessible by road. The only way into the town is by hiking over rugged wilderness or by air.

The town is the capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is home to the spectacular Havasu Falls, a prime tourist attraction.

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