“Right now, our focus is saving lives. If you’re told to evacuate, go,” New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said after relentless tropical moisture brought flash flooding to the American Southwest.
Emergency responders carried out hundreds of water rescues between Farmington and Bloomfield as families spent the night on rooftops to escape rising water, theguardian.com reported. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch across much of the Four Corners region, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. The relentless downpours marked the culmination of two months of on-and-off heavy rain fueled by Pacific moisture over drought-stricken terrain.
Swollen Rivers Smash Century-Old Records
The San Juan River in Farmington ran 2 ft above its previous record set in 1909 on Friday, according to reporting by journalarta.com.
San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari watched as roughly 4 feet of water inundated his own home. While conditions stabilized by Sunday, the sheriff and local residents faced a recovery effort.
Across the state line in Hurricane, Utah, fast-moving brown water tore through communities. Juana Puga told reporters that water submerged most of her house within five minutes of her returning from errands. Her family had only moved back into the property on October 1, following renovations required by an earlier flood in August.
Contaminated Silt Complicates Recovery Work
As water levels began to recede in parts of San Juan County, officials warned that the physical destruction was only part of the hazard. San Juan County spokesperson Devin Neeley explained that receding floodwaters left behind mud and silt contaminated by sewage following failures at waste plants.
“It’s a pretty active disaster zone. We’re not on the downswing by any means,” Neeley said.
Widespread power outages continued to plague multiple areas, with estimates it could take several days to restore electricity. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service warned that another round of heavy showers and thunderstorms was expected to strike the region on Sunday, threatening to renew flash-flooding risks.
In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis declared disaster emergencies across 12 counties, authorizing National Guard members to mobilize for rescue operations. In Santa Fe, a tornado on Saturday damaged at least eight houses, including roof collapses.
No fatalities have been reported across the four-state impact zone.
