FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of homes remained evacuated and without power Saturday after days of heavy rain — more than 5 inches (13 centimeters) in places — surging water from the Colorado mountains into the desert of New Mexico and Arizona.
Even if the San Juan River and other waterways receded recordsother storms rumbled, forcing local authorities to warn of even more waves.
“This is not over and we need you to monitor the alerts,” Police Chief Steve Hebbe of Farmington, New Mexico, said at a news conference.
Flooding affected some 2,000 people in and around this town of 46,000, not far from Four Corners, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.
At least a few hundred people were in need of rescue – too many for busy authorities to keep an accurate count – since rains intensified on Wednesday and flooding peaked on Thursday and Friday.
Some found themselves stranded on roofs. The rescues included 11 lifting operations involving New Mexico National Guard helicopters, each of which transported up to eight people to safety, San Juan County spokesman Devin Neeley said.
But the shelters were not full, leading authorities to suspect that most of the evacuees were staying with friends and family.
Even with water levels dropping, evacuations remained in effect until officials deemed it safe to return. Potential dangers included downed power lines, leaking gas lines and the likelihood of more storms throughout the weekend.
“There’s a lot of anxiety and a lot of frustration,” San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari said. “But please understand that we are blocking off these areas for your safety.”
Authorities in Colorado and New Mexico have urged people not to fly drones to check their property or sightsee, warning that such activity can endanger rescue planes. They also asked people not to use 911 unless there is a real emergency.
Below Farmington, the San Juan River flooded part of the vast Navajo Nation. A 2-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 64 west of Shiprock was closed due to water on the roadway.
Upstream in Colorado, the milkshake-brown San Juan River raged through the spa town of Pagosa Springs at levels not seen in more than a century. The flooding was well over 2 feet (60 centimeters) higher than just over a year ago, which authorities considered a 100-year flood.
The Animas River raged in a muddy torrent through Durango, a southwest Colorado tourist town, although below records dating back more than a century.
Flooding extended to the Conejos River in south-central Colorado, and Gov. Jared Polis added Conejos County to the list of places eligible for disaster aid.
Some roads, including US 160 northeast of Pagosa Springs, remained closed. But the famous and winding Million Dollar Highway – officially US 550 – has reopened between Durango and Ouray after crews repaired an area damaged by water.
The flood is just the last two months of intermittent heavy rains caused by tropical humidity from the Pacific. After months of drought, other deadly floods have recently hit the region. Grand Canyon and parts of New Mexico.
The region’s rocky deserts are naturally prone to flash flooding, but rain has saturated the soils, making flooding even more likely.
___
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
Gn headline
