‘A terrible crisis’: San Juan County officials describe widespread flooding impacts

San Juan County officials on Friday described widespread damage due to recent flooding along the San Juan and Animas rivers, with one county official saying the region faces a “terrible crisis” until the floodwaters recede. 

Heavy rains in the headwaters of the rivers in southern Colorado swelled both rivers and caused them to jump their banks as they flowed south into Farmington and elsewhere in northwest New Mexico. Much of northwest New Mexico, including the Four Corners area and the eastern edge of the Navajo Nation, have seen floods, but the area between Farmington and Bloomfield appears to be the hardest hit as of Friday.

According to a National Weather Service database, floods in that area have damaged approximately 1,500 homes and prompted crews to conduct swiftwater rescues of at least 60 people since Thursday afternoon. 

The NWS database cites figures from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Devin Neeley told Source NM on Friday that the actual number of rescues and damaged homes could be higher.

Several people needed to be rescued from the rooftops of their homes, tribal, local and state officials said during a news conference Friday. 

In addition to the rescues and home damage, floodwaters breached the Bloomfield wastewater treatment center, turning all of the San Juan River into a “haz-mat situation” zone, Neeley said Friday during the conference. 

“There is raw sewage in the river, and there is nothing that we can do to mitigate that at this point,” Neely said. “So stay out of the water.”

San Juan County Commission Chair Sam Gonzales said Friday the county is seeking both state and federal disaster declarations that would unlock additional resources to help the communities affected. 

“San Juan County is in grave danger right now,” he said. “We ask you folks to — don’t panic. We are in a crisis. We are doing the best we possibly can.”

Officials said Friday that no one had died due to the flooding. 

Danielle Silva, a spokesperson for the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the state has activated an Emergency Operations Center that is prepared to provide any additional resources, and it has sent additional swiftwater rescue teams to the area. 

Silva noted that the New Mexico governor’s office issued a disaster declaration in late September due to ongoing flooding across the state, so San Juan County has access to some of approximately $3.75 million the governor authorized for flooding response. 

“I’m sure things will update, we’ve got more rain coming, but right now [we’re] just focused on the response piece,” Silva said.

Leah March, a spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, told Source NM in an email Friday that the state has “deployed every available resource to San Juan County” amid the flooding emergency, including helicopters for rooftop rescues and boats. 

“The state will support San Juan County through every stage of this recovery,” she said.

Randall Hergert, an NWS meteorologist, told Source NM on Friday that heavy rain and river flooding across the San Juan Basin remains the “biggest concern” Friday and Saturday.

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The service has issued multiple flood watches and warnings in the San Juan Basin that are in effect through the weekend, and Hergert noted that additional runoff could come from southern Colorado and pose additional concerns even if the rain stops in San Juan County. 

Herbert noted that areas of Sandoval and Rio Arriba counties also saw between two and three inches of rain since Thursday, prompting their own flooding. The service’s forecast predicts additional rain in both counties through Saturday. 

Much of New Mexico could face extreme weather, Herbert said, including hail, severe wind gusts and even a tornado somewhere in the state’s central mountain chain on Friday. 

But, by Sunday, forecasters predict the winds and rain will calm, Herbert said. 

“We have to get through today. We have to get through tomorrow,” he said. “And then we do have drying conditions into next week.”