Flooding described by officials as a once-in-a-generation event has swamped communities in northwest New Mexico, trapping residents on rooftops and triggering a wave of rescues as a powerful Pacific storm system continues to push water through the region.
The San Juan and Animas rivers surged through San Juan County on Thursday, flooding homes, swallowing cars and forcing New Mexico State Police and National Guard troops to pull stranded residents to safety in Bloomfield. More water is expected to move downstream through the weekend.
Mother Aimee Goodday told KOAT she was woken around midnight Friday when freezing floodwater began pouring into her trailer. She got her family onto the roof, where they stayed for 12 hours before rescuers reached them.
“We lost everything, everything… We were all freaked out and stuff, but one of us had to be the adult,” Goodday said.
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said at a press conference that the scale of the flooding was unprecedented for the area.
“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,” Hebbe said.
At least 60 rescues have taken place between Farmington and Bloomfield since Thursday afternoon, according to KOAT. The New Mexico National Guard also rescued an infant suffering seizures Thursday night.
Roughly 600 households in Farmington were forced to evacuate, and emergency shelters have opened at McGee Park to house displaced residents.
Storm Spreads Across the Region
The flooding stems from a Pacific storm system that moved inland from Southern California, dumping heavy rain that sent millions of gallons of runoff into the San Juan and Animas rivers. The storm has also hit Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
In Utah, the city of Hurricane declared an emergency Thursday after roughly 80 residential homes and 50 recreational vehicles were affected.
In southern Colorado, floodwaters rose four to five feet inside some homes, forcing residents to flee. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told The Colorado Sun that about 1,000 families had been evacuated as of Thursday morning and declared a disaster emergency, urging residents to follow instructions from local officials as the region continues to deal with the flooding.
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