Four Corners faces renewed flood threat after days of heavy rain

The Four Corners region faced another round of heavy showers and thunderstorms Sunday after days of rain sent rivers surging, forced evacuations and prompted hundreds of water rescues in northwestern New Mexico.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of the area where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. Rivers swollen by rain that intensified Wednesday were expected to recede further, local officials said, but additional downpours could flood roads, small streams, narrow canyons and areas scarred by wildfires, according to CBS News meteorologist Andrew Kozak.

In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Saturday that law enforcement had reported hundreds of water rescues between Farmington and Bloomfield. Families had spent the night on rooftops as the river flooded their homes, she said, while National Guard and state police crews brought people to safety.

“Right now, our focus is saving lives. If you’re told to evacuate, go,” Lujan Grisham said. “Once the water recedes, the state will do everything in its power to help San Juan county families rebuild.” She said no deaths had been reported.

On Friday, the San Juan River at Farmington ran 2 feet above its previous record, set in 1909. About 4 feet of water flooded the home of San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari. He said conditions in the area were stable Sunday, though residents were still cleaning up and assessing damage.

County spokesperson Devin Neeley said officials did not yet have figures for the number of damaged homes or people evacuated. He was not aware of any loss of life. Although floodwaters were receding, they had left behind mud and silt, much of it contaminated with sewage after failures at waste plants, he said. Multiple areas remained without power, and restoration would likely take a few days.

“It’s a pretty active disaster zone,” Neeley said. “We’re not on the downswing by any means.” The Guardian reported that the flooding had caused multimillion-dollar damage.

Across the state line in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Transportation said the San Juan River’s flow rose significantly overnight and the San Juan River Bridge remained closed Sunday. Video shared with CBS Colorado showed a house in Pagosa Springs almost entirely submerged, with only part of its roof and chimney visible.

“I’m sorry, buddy. I tried. I really tried. But this one was bigger than the last one,” Pagosa Springs resident Chris Mott said in a video showing water rushing through a neighborhood. “It moved sandbags and everything.”

The storms follow two months of intermittent heavy rain linked to tropical moisture moving inland from the Pacific. After months of drought, other recent flooding killed people at the Grand Canyon and in parts of New Mexico. Kozak said the rain would spread across the central and northern Plains on Sunday night, then move toward the Upper Midwest on Monday and Tuesday.