In brief
Heavy rains over the past week have caused repeated flooding in the U.S. Southwest, leading to multiple rescues, road closures and new damage estimates of up to $200 million. State officials have declared emergencies and asked for federal aid as infrastructure and sanitation systems are still at risk. The storm is now moving toward the central United States, raising concerns for additional flooding.
A series of storms across the U.S. Southwest on Monday and Sunday plunged communities into flash floods, forcing evacuations, shutting roads and prompting rescues that left several people dead, Xinhua reported.
In Arizona, a man swept into floodwater near Flagstaff on Sunday was found dead the next day, according to a police statement cited by Xinhua. Firefighters in Phoenix and neighboring Scottsdale rescued motorists trapped by rising water over the weekend, local broadcaster Arizona’s Family said.
The storm’s reach extended into Nevada, where multiple water rescues were reported Friday in the Las Vegas Valley. One person rescued in Henderson later died in hospital, KTNV noted, citing a city spokesperson.
Colorado saw the town of Pagosa Springs remain under evacuation orders on Monday. State officials closed a bridge on U.S. Highway 160 after erosion threatened a nearby museum building that could collapse into the San Juan River. The town’s sewer system had stabilized last week, but renewed flooding caused sewage discharge, threatening the still-weakened sanitation system, Xinhua reported.
Officials estimated damage to federal‑aid roadways in Colorado at $65 million, while damage in San Juan County, New Mexico and surrounding areas could exceed $200 million, the governor’s office said.
Across the region, the storm has forced hundreds of water rescues between Farmington and Bloomfield in New Mexico and displaced families in Bluff, Utah. Floods also overtopped sewage lagoons in San Juan County, prompting warnings against contact with the river, Xinhua added.
State climatologist Russ Schumacher said the late-October storms were among the most extreme in Colorado’s history, with several communities recording their wettest two-day periods in a century, according to a Colorado Climate Center analysis.
State officials in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico declared emergencies or sought federal assistance in response to the flooding, according to Xinhua. A presidential emergency declaration was requested by New Mexico’s governor’s office.
Meanwhile, the storm is moving into the central United States, CNN reported, potentially bringing soggy weather beyond the Southwest. The risk of flooding remains high after recent rains, AP News noted, citing an expert who said over 20 trillion gallons of water have fallen on the region.”}
