Officials warn floodwaters could carry chemicals and raw sewage
The National Weather Service expected the San Juan River to crest at 31 feet (9.4 meters) later Monday, then fall below flood stage by Tuesday morning. By Monday morning, the river stood 1 1/2 feet (45.7 centimeters) above its 23-foot (7 meters) flood stage. The projected crest was below the 32-foot crest recorded Sept. 10, 1927, the weather service said. A flood warning remained in place across parts of the Southwest’s Four Corners region, the meeting point of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, as some saturated neighborhoods began cleaning up, assessing damage and watching for water that could be contaminated with chemicals and raw sewage. Flooding from excessive rainfall occurred Monday along the river.
One flooding-related death was reported in Santa Fe on Saturday during a water rescue of a family that had attempted to cross a flooded arroyo in its vehicle, the county sheriff’s office said. A father and child reached land, but a female passenger was swept away by the current and was found dead a mile away, the office said. Storms also produced a tornado that touched down in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Saturday night.
The rising river prompted evacuations in Utah and Colorado. Some residents in Bluff, Utah, were evacuated over the weekend but were allowed to return early Monday. County officials said returning residents and businesses should use caution because several properties were still flooded.
The weather service warned residents to stay out of the San Juan River and said, “Water levels remain elevated, and possible sewage contamination poses additional health risks.” In the Farmington area of New Mexico, local officials said swollen rivers were receding, but many people remained evacuated and hundreds were without power. San Juan County, New Mexico, did not have official figures on the number of homes damaged or the number of people evacuated, spokesperson Devin Neeley told The Associated Press. “It’s a pretty active disaster zone,” he said.
Officials in affected counties urged patience and caution. Water could be contaminated with chemicals and raw sewage, and gas and propane lines could be broken, among other hazards. At a Sunday news conference, San Juan County Fire & Rescue Chief David Vega said, “The public is anxious to get back in.” He also said, “But I want the public to know there are still hazards out there.” Undersheriff Cory Tanner said officials were going from house to house to check for hazards, a process that could take days to complete.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Major General Miguel Aguilar of the New Mexico National Guard planned to visit San Juan County, New Mexico, on Monday to survey damage and meet with affected residents.
In the Shiprock, New Mexico, area of the Navajo Nation, flooding damaged wastewater facilities and water holding ponds, causing sewage releases into the San Juan River, according to Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Shiprock District Manager Wilfred Franklin Jr. New Mexico’s congressional delegation on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to declare an emergency for the state to release federal assistance funding. In Colorado, teams created maps of some counties to help identify affected roads, road closures, impacted areas and evacuation zones.
A Bloomfield family’s evacuation
Zach and Abigail Flatt started putting together go-bags after receiving evacuation orders on their phones Thursday evening. Their home in Bloomfield, New Mexico, sits on the San Juan River. “In 30 or 40 minutes it had jumped about 4 feet,” Zach Flatt recalled Sunday. “After I saw that big jump, and how close it was to going over the banks, I said we’ve got to get out.”
By the time the family loaded into their car, water was coming up over the tires. They found a hotel room with their two children, ages 2 and 4, and watched via webcams as at least 18 inches (.45 meters) of water inundated their property, washing away 22 of their 24 chickens. “We watched stuff just float away, off the porch into the front yard,” Zach Flatt said.
Tropical moisture fueled two months of heavy rain
The flooding was the latest in two months of on-and-off heavy rain in the region, caused by tropical moisture coming ashore from the Pacific. The area had experienced unusually heavy rain since Wednesday that caused rivers to surge, flood homes and force water rescues.
After months of drought, other recent deadly flooding struck the Grand Canyon and other areas of New Mexico. Forecasters said El Niño, the natural and temporary warming of parts of the Pacific, was likely to blame for the latest storm’s unusually heavy rainfall.
Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Anna Wilder in Austin, Texas, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.