Raging floodwaters have devastated northwest New Mexico, trapping families on rooftops and prompting urgent helicopter rescues as a powerful Pacific storm wreaks havoc across the Southwest.
Described as “once-in-a-generation” flooding, the surge along the San Juan and Animas rivers inundated communities throughout San Juan County on Thursday. Officials warned that additional water could move downstream through the weekend.
New Mexico State Police and National Guard troops rescued stranded residents and searched the river near Bloomfield as floodwaters swept away cars, poured into houses and forced families onto rooftops.
“We lost everything, everything… We were all freaked out and stuff, but one of us had to be the adult,” mother Aimee Goodday told KOAT.
Goodday said she was awakened around midnight Friday when freezing water began flooding her trailer. She hurried her family onto the roof, where they spent 12 hours awaiting rescue.
“This is a once-in-a-generation time. This is singular and this is real. So far, we have not had any deaths but this is not anything that should be played with,” Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said during a press conference.
At least 60 rescues were conducted between Farmington and Bloomfield from Thursday afternoon onward, KOAT reported. New Mexico National Guard personnel also rescued an infant suffering from seizures Thursday night.
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The flooding prompted about 600 Farmington households to evacuate. Emergency shelters opened at McGee Park to provide displaced families with a safe place to stay.
The disaster began after a Pacific storm system moved inland over Southern California, releasing heavy rain and driving millions of gallons of runoff into the San Juan and Animas rivers.
The storm has also brought severe weather and flooding to several other Southwestern states, including Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
In Utah, officials in Hurricane declared an emergency Thursday after “approximately 80 residential homes and 50 recreational vehicles” were affected.
Floodwaters in southern Colorado rose to four or five feet inside some homes, forcing residents to make urgent escapes.
“As of this morning we had about 1,000 families evacuated,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told The Colorado Sun.
Polis also declared a disaster emergency and urged residents to follow instructions from local officials as communities across the region confront devastating flooding.
