Storms batter Four Corners region
Trending
A rain-soaked swath of the Southwest U.S. endured additional flooding as crews in New Mexico scoured evacuated neighborhoods Sunday for dead animals, downed power lines and other hazards left behind by receding floodwaters and at least one tornado.
With more showers and thunderstorms moving through, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of the Four Corners region -- the meeting point of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The area has experienced unusually heavy rain since Wednesday that caused rivers to surge, flooding homes and forcing water rescues.
"The soils are very saturated right now, so it's not going to take much rain for at least the small creeks and streams to overflow," said Kris Sanders, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Grand Junction, Colorado.
A tornado touched down in Santa Fe, New Mexico, around 7 p.m. Saturday, and forecasters were trying to confirm whether twisters also struck elsewhere in the state, said meteorologist Scott Overpeck with the weather service office in Albuquerque. He did not have damage estimates.
Michelle Vialpando spotted a tornado from her patio in the Aldea de Santa Fe neighborhood, facing north towards Los Alamos. She had just gotten home from work and stepped outside to look at what she called "crazy" storm clouds when she noticed the twister.
"I was pretty surprised at what I was seeing and just started snapping photos," Vialpando wrote Sunday via Facebook. "I was literally in shock. I've lived in Santa Fe my entire life and have never seen anything like that before."
Many remain evacuated, hundreds without power
In the Farmington area of New Mexico, local officials said swollen rivers were receding but that many people remained evacuated and hundreds were without power.
San Juan County, New Mexico, did not have official figures on the number of homes damaged or how many people were evacuated, but officials were not aware of any deaths, spokesperson Devin Neeley told The Associated Press.
"It's a pretty active disaster zone," he said.
About 4 feet of water flooded the home of county Sheriff Shane Ferrari. He said the area's situation was stable Sunday, but he and other residents were trying to clean up.
Floodwaters could be contaminated
Officials in the hard-hit county urged patience and caution Sunday. Water could be contaminated with chemicals and raw sewage, and gas and propane lines could be broken, among other hazards.
"The public is anxious to get back in," San Juan County Fire & Rescue Chief David Vega acknowledged at a news conference. "But I want the public to know there are still hazards out there."
Undersheriff Cory Tanner said officials were going from house to house to check for hazards -- a process that could take days to complete.
Zach and Abigail Flatt started putting together go-bags after receiving evacuation orders on their phones Thursday evening. Their home in Bloomfield, New Mexico, sits on the San Juan River, and Zach drove along the banks watching the water rise at an alarming rate.
"In 30 or 40 minutes it had jumped about four feet," Zach recalled Sunday. "After I saw that big jump, and how close it was to going over the banks, I said we've got to get out."
By the time the family was loaded into the car, water was coming up over the tires. They found a hotel room with their two children, ages 2 and 4, and watched via webcams as at least 18 inches of water inundated their property, washing away 22 of their
24 chickens.