San Juan River floodwaters: New Mexico county counts damage

Flooding along the San Juan River kept parts of the Four Corners region under a warning Monday, days after heavy rain pushed water into homes across Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The river stood 1.5 feet above its 23-foot flood stage Monday morning and was expected to crest at 31 feet later in the day before dropping back below flood stage by Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service said. The weather service recorded a crest of 32 feet on Sept. 10, 1927.

One death has been attributed to the flooding. The Santa Fe County sheriff's office said a family attempted to cross a flooded arroyo in a vehicle on Saturday during a water rescue. A father and child reached land; a female passenger was swept downstream and found dead a mile away. A tornado touched down in Santa Fe on Saturday night as storms moved through the region.

San Juan County, New Mexico, reported damage across the county. Spokesperson Devin Neeley said the county did not yet have figures for homes damaged or residents evacuated. "It's a pretty active disaster zone," he said. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Major General Miguel Aguilar of the New Mexico National Guard planned to visit Monday to survey damage and meet residents.

Water that has moved through neighborhoods may carry chemicals and raw sewage, and officials warned that gas and propane lines could be broken. The weather service urged people to stay out of the river, citing elevated levels and possible sewage contamination. In the Shiprock area of the Navajo Nation, wastewater facilities and holding ponds were damaged and released sewage into the San Juan River, said Wilfred Franklin Jr., Shiprock district manager for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. San Juan County Fire & Rescue Chief David Vega said at a Sunday news conference that the public is anxious to return but that hazards remain. Undersheriff Cory Tanner said crews were going house to house to check for hazards, a process that could take days.

In Bluff, Utah, some residents were evacuated over the weekend and allowed to return early Monday. County officials said several properties remained flooded. In Farmington, New Mexico, rivers were receding, but many people remained evacuated and hundreds were without power.

Zach and Abigail Flatt began packing 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 said. Water reached above the tires of the family's car as they left with their two children, ages 2 and 4. The water rose at least 18 inches on the property and washed away 22 of the family's 24 chickens, he said. New Mexico's congressional delegation asked President Donald Trump on Sunday to declare an emergency for the state to release federal assistance funding. In Colorado, teams mapped counties to identify affected roads, closures, impacted areas and evacuation zones.