Rescuers pulled families off rooftops in northwest New Mexico as rivers spilled over their banks, after two months of heavy rain left the ground too soaked to hold any more.
Story Snapshot
- Crews used boats, helicopters and amphibious vehicles to reach people trapped in homes with 3 to 4 feet of water inside.
- About 600 households in Farmington were told to evacuate as the San Juan and Animas rivers rose.
- Officials counted more than 60 water rescues, mostly between Farmington and Bloomfield.
- No deaths had been reported as of Friday, and more rain was forecast through the weekend.
- Near Chaco Canyon, when roads washed out and aircraft were grounded, three responders walked the last stretch to reach a 7-day-old baby having seizures, got there around midnight and stabilized her.
Rooftop Rescues As The Rivers Rise
Floodwaters swept the Four Corners on Friday, October 23, the region where New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona meet. San Juan County spokesman Devin Neeley said crews were “picking people off of roofs and pulling people out of houses that have 3 or 4 feet of water in them, and there’s more water coming.” New Mexico National Guard crews used boats, helicopters and amphibious vehicles, which drive on land and float on water, to reach people the roads could no longer reach.
The cause was rain that would not quit. Two months of heavy storms ended a summer drought, and the ground could not soak up any more. Kate Abbott, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado, said the region was “saturated.” She said this was the third or fourth round of heavy moisture in as many weeks.
Evacuations And Emergency Orders
San Juan County declared a state of emergency and told anyone who saw water rising to leave at once. In Farmington, the largest city in the Four Corners, about 600 households were told to evacuate, and areas along the San Juan River were closed. County officials estimated about 1,500 residences had been evacuated countywide by Friday. Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe urged people to heed the warnings. “This is a once-in-a-generation time for us,” he said.
Local officials counted more than 60 water rescues by Friday morning, and about 60 rescue operations by Friday evening. Officials have not released a count of how many people were rescued. “The focus is on getting people out, not taking a head count,” Neeley said. As many as 1,500 homes and buildings were estimated to have been hit by the flooding, according to a National Weather Service database.
A Night Of Hard Rescues
Some rescues took hours. Near Chaco Canyon, responders set out on Thursday afternoon to reach a 7-day-old baby having seizures at a remote home. When roads washed out and aircraft were grounded, three responders walked the last stretch. They reached the home around midnight, stabilized the baby and set up an ambulance ride through Bloomfield’s emergency crews shortly after 1 a.m.
In Bloomfield, the flooded San Juan River shut down the city’s water treatment plant, and raw sewage spilled into the river. Bloomfield Mayor John Mohler asked residents to use as little water as they could. A Red Cross shelter opened at McGee Park in Farmington. Leah March, a spokesperson for New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the state urged all residents “to heed all direction from law enforcement, especially as it concerns evacuations.”
Flooding Across Four States
The water hit hard beyond New Mexico. In southern Colorado, the San Juan River ran about 3 feet higher than a 100-year flood, which is a flood so big it has only a 1 in 100 chance of happening in any year. Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency in 11 counties. In Hurricane, Utah, the city declared a state of emergency after water reached about 80 homes and 50 RVs. On the Navajo Nation in Arizona, crews rescued seven families from flooded homes. More rain was forecast through the weekend, and some residents were told to stay where they were until the water dropped.
Sources:
apnews.com, sourcenm.com, abqjournal.com, wyomingpublicmedia.org, tricityrecordnm.com, nypost.com