Severe flooding in US west triggers rooftop rescues and evacuation orders

At least one injured after flooding in Four Corners region – which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah

Severe flooding in the Four Corners region on Friday led to water rescues – some from rooftops – and impassable roads, with some residents being told to evacuate low-lying areas of Colorado and New Mexico and others advised to shelter in place until water levels go down.

It followed several busy days of flooding in the region that swamped dozens of homes in Utah. Earlier in the week, tornadoes blew off roofs, knocked trees on to houses and downed power lines in Arizona. At least one person was injured.

An unknown number of people were rescued overnight and continued to be rescued on Friday by New Mexico guard boats, helicopters and amphibious vehicles, Devin Neeley, a San Juan county spokesperson, said.

“We’re picking people off of roofs and pulling people out of houses that have 3 or 4ft (1-1.5 metres) of water in them, and there’s more water coming,” Neeley said.

Skies were clearing but the rivers continued to rise, with forecast crests surpassed, he added.

“This is serious. We’re still sending deputies as I speak to get people out of their homes right now. In fact, our sheriff is damn near going to lose his home today,” Neeley said.

About 600 households were told to evacuate in Farmington, where areas along the San Juan River were closed off, city spokesperson Gina Intoppa said.

“We are kind of all hands on deck,” Intoppa said.

Farmington is the biggest city in the Four Corners, the only place in the US where four states – Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah – come together.

National guard members also were deployed to assist with flooding in south-west Colorado. Rising waters prompted mandatory evacuations along four rivers, including the San Juan River through Pagosa Springs. The resort town famous for its riverside hot springs suffered flooding from a similar weather pattern a year ago.

“Please shelter in place, water levels are beginning to recede, but many roads are impassable and unsafe for travel,” the Archuleta county sheriff’s office posted online on Friday.

In nearby Rio Grande county, trailers at a campground were surrounded by high water and trucks were partially submerged in other areas.

Jared Polis, Colorado’s governor, had declared a disaster emergency in 11 counties in response to heavy rain and flooding in the south-west part of the state.

The city of Hurricane in far south-western Utah was cleaning up after declaring a state of emergency on Thursday. Reddish-brown flood water lapped into and about 80 homes in a neighborhood and 50 recreational vehicles in an RV park.

Surreal scenes included a shipping container drifting slowly down a street.

The flooding was not unexpected, just the latest from two months of heavy rain that ended a summer of drought. While parts of the south-west are rocky with little vegetation and are naturally prone to flash flooding, the recent rains have made flooding everywhere more likely, said Kate Abbott, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado.

“At this point we’re saturated and can’t take too much more without flooding,” Abbott said. “This is the third or fourth round of this kind of moisture we’ve seen in as many weeks.”