San Juan River hits 31-foot crest in Four Corners region

Residents in the Four Corners region face immediate health and safety risks from floodwaters mixed with raw sewage and broken gas lines. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning that remained active Monday for parts of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Local authorities urged people to exercise caution when re-entering properties because water levels are still elevated and chemical contamination is possible.

The weather system began on Wednesday when unusually heavy rain caused rivers to surge. The storms produced a tornado that touched down in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Saturday night. On the same day, the Santa Fe County sheriff's office reported one death. A family attempted to cross a flooded arroyo in a vehicle. A father and child reached land, but a female passenger was swept away and found dead a mile downstream.

By Monday morning, the San Juan River stood 1.5 feet above its 23-foot flood stage. Forecasters projected the river would crest at 31 feet later Monday. Officials noted that this level is one foot lower than the 32-foot crest recorded on Sept. 10, 1927. The river is expected to drop below flood stage by Tuesday morning.

In Bluff, Utah, evacuated residents were permitted to return to their homes early Monday. County officials advised them to inspect properties carefully because several structures remained flooded. In the Farmington area of New Mexico, water levels began to recede, though hundreds of residents remained without power and many stayed in evacuation shelters. San Juan County did not have official counts for damaged homes or evacuated residents. Spokesperson Devin Neeley described the area as an active disaster zone.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Major General Miguel Aguilar of the New Mexico National Guard planned to visit San Juan County Monday to assess damage. San Juan County Fire & Rescue Chief David Vega acknowledged that residents were eager to return but warned of lingering hazards. Undersheriff Cory Tanner said officials were conducting house-to-house inspections to check for gas and propane line leaks. That process could take several days to finish.

In the Shiprock area of the Navajo Nation, flooding damaged wastewater facilities and water holding ponds. Wilfred Franklin Jr., the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority district manager, said these failures caused sewage to release into the San Juan River. New Mexico's congressional delegation asked President Donald Trump to declare a state of emergency on Sunday to unlock federal assistance funds. In Colorado, teams mapped affected roads and evacuation zones to guide recovery efforts.

Forecasters attributed the heavy rainfall to El Niño, a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean. This event follows two months of on-and-off rain in the region caused by tropical moisture. The current flooding adds to recent deadly events in the Grand Canyon and other parts of New Mexico that occurred after a period of drought.