SUPAI, Ariz. -- A woman caught in floodwaters after a dam weakened by heavy rains ruptured at the Grand Canyon said she and 15 other rafters found safety in an alcove.

IMAGES: Bird's-Eye View Of Supai Dam Break

The Nevada City, Calif. woman, who didn't want her last name used, said her group was left stranded Saturday night on a ledge where Havasu Creek and the Colorado River join after floodwaters carried their raft away.

"We huddled together in the dirt," Shawna said. "Slept as we could."

When the flooding hit, the woman said the group climbed up the cliff to escape the rushing waters.

Once help arrived, each person was flown one at a time to the other side of the Colorado River, where they boarded a helicopter and were flown to the Hualapai Hilltop. They were then transported to the American Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs.

Rescuers in Supai resumed air evacuations Monday after heavy rains led to a breach in an earthen dam, said Maureen Oltrogge of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Authorities on the ground and in the air searched for about 11 campers and tourists who remained unaccounted for, said Gerry Blair, a spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff's Department. He said it's possible those people might have already left but authorities would assume they were still in the canyon until that could be determined.

'Water Was Lapping At Our Tent,' Camper Says

At least 170 campers and residents caught in floodwaters at the Grand Canyon were rescued Sunday when the dam broke 45 miles upstream, Oltrogge said.

The Redlands Dam west of Valle along Cataract Creek ruptured around 6 a.m. Sunday, triggering flooding near Supai, at the bottom of the canyon, Oltrogge said. Supai is home to about 400 Havasupai Reservation tribal members. The town is located about 75 miles northwest of Grand Canyon Village, a popular tourist area on the canyon's south rim.

There were no confirmed reports of damage in the village and no one was injured, authorities said.

The National Guard and the Arizona Department of Public Safety provided five helicopters to help in the rescue efforts, Oltrogge said.

One camper watched in amazement as waters rose six feet in about an hour's time.

"I heard what I thought was just the sound of rain just coming in and said, 'Oh, we're about to get flooded,'" said Craig Lindquist. "And I woke up and it wasn't rain. The water, you could see it moving up. It was literally lapping at our tent."

Evacuees were being taken to a Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, about 60 miles southwest of Supai, Oltrogge said. The shelter is located at the Hualapai Tribal gym off Diamond Creek Road in Peach Springs. The shelter will provide an array of support services, including meals, a safe sleeping place and counseling, said Tracey Kiest of the Arizona chapter of the American Red Cross.

"It was scary," said Kishan Moti, a rescued hiker. "You worry about other people and you worry about yourself."

The road into Havasupai is closed at Route 66 and Indian Road 18 leading into Hualapai Hilltop.

Officers, sheriff's deputies and rescuers from nine public safety agencies worked to coordinate the evacuation in Supai Canyon, said Coconino County Sheriff Bill Pribil.

National Park Service employees tried to contact members of rafting parties who had not yet reached the confluence, which is located at about river mile 157, in an effort to inform them of the flooding had occurred in that area, Pribil said.

West-central Coconino County had been under a flash flood warning early Sunday.

"This started on Friday with heavy rainfall in the county," said CBS 5 meteorologist Steve Garry. He said between 4 and 7 inches of rain has inundated the area since then.

Supai police reported foot bridges and hiking trails were washed out and trees uprooted.

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