Floods strand families, force rescues as San Juan River nears major flood stage

SHIPROCK

A surge on the San Juan River moved toward Shiprock on Friday after two days of storms flooded homes, stranded families and forced rescues throughout the Navajo Nation.

The San Juan River at Shiprock reached 17.3 feet Friday night, above the 15.5-foot flood stage, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters expected the river to reach 20.7 feet late Saturday morning, just above major flood stage of 20.5 feet.

Upstream in Farmington, the river reached 14.1 feet Friday, surpassing the previous record of 12.3 feet set in 1909.

By late afternoon, the river had spread over its floodplain beside the U.S. Highway 64 bridges in Shiprock.

‘I’m worried, scared for the residents that live here,” said Harrison Clark, who lives in Shiprock. “Hopefully they got out and they’re home safely or they’re with relatives safely.”

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At an earlier San Juan County briefing Friday, Navajo Police Deputy Chief Donnie Kee said the highest water was expected to reach Shiprock late Friday night or early Saturday.

“We know that the surge is coming. It has not reached us yet,” Kee said. “Do not wait to make your evacuation.”

Police warned families along the river from Farmington west through Upper Fruitland, Nenahnezad, San Juan Chapter, Hogback and Shiprock to Montezuma Creek, Utah. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Shiprock Chapter Vice President Debra Yazzie issued an evacuation alert for families near the river.

Kee described the strain on Navajo Nation emergency responders as flooding affected communities throughout the week.

“Our resources are stretched a little thin right now,” he said.

Shelters opened in Shiprock at Power House Church on the north side and First Baptist Church, behind Nataaní Nez Restaurant, on the south side. The Red Cross operates a shelter at McGee Park near Farmington that accepts pets and accommodates RVs.

The floodwater also carried raw sewage after rising water inundated the Bloomfield wastewater treatment plant upstream of Navajo communities, sending untreated wastewater into the river.

“The San Juan River is a hazmat situation,” said Devin Neeley, a spokesperson for San Juan County. “Do not go in the water.”

Bloomfield Mayor John Mohler said crews were restarting the plant Friday afternoon. Farmington officials reported that the city’s drinking water was safe and no boil order was in effect.

San Juan County officials reported no deaths in the county as of Friday afternoon. The county declared an emergency and is seeking a presidential disaster declaration.

In Rock Point, Arizona, Chinle Wash spilled over U.S. Highway 191 north of the chapter house. Residents said they had not seen that happen since the early 1980s.

Samantha Jones, 46, spent Friday carrying sandbags by herself from the highway to her home before she and her mother evacuated to Fort Defiance.

“My home is pretty much flooded, but not completely underwater like a lot of the homes on the north side of Rock Point going towards Mexican Water,” she said.

Her sister was safe but stranded on West Mesa. The bridge was closed, and roads off the mesa had washed out. Relatives below the mesa “completely lost everything,” Samantha Jones said.

“Their homes are filled with water, and their cars are practically just sticking out of the ground,” she said.

James Jones, another Rock Point resident, drove home from Flagstaff and found water 4 to 5 feet deep running beside his house.

“We can always repair things. We can always replace things,” James Jones said. “But human life is something that we can’t replace or repair.”

On Thursday, Navajo Police and the Navajo Department of Emergency Management rescued 30 people from seven families in Dennehotso, Arizona, police said. Crews used a SHERP, an all-terrain rescue vehicle, and an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter.

The storms also damaged roads throughout the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Division of Transportation reported that a washed-out culvert on N8033 in Forest Lake, Arizona, caused the road to collapse and that N9092 in White Cone was washed out. A bridge on N91 near Pinto Tank, in the Torreon/Star Lake Chapter, was destroyed. The main road in Oljato, Utah, was badly undercut.

Transportation officials said saturated ground prevented heavy equipment from reaching many damaged roads. In Round Rock, Arizona, chapter house phone lines were down, and the chapter asked residents to report damage by email.

In Montezuma Creek, the Utah Navajo Health System set up cots inside the elementary school gym. Aneth Chapter President Carma Claw said the chapter requested assistance Thursday from the Navajo Department of Emergency Management.

“Their response is, please submit a form,” Claw said. “And so, we have done that and we’re awaiting a response.”

The chapter purchased its own sandbags while awaiting assistance.

The Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management declared a state of emergency, and Nygren concurred. On Friday, Controller Sean McCabe told chapters they could use emergency funds and emergency purchasing rules for shelter, food, water, debris removal and repairs.

The Hopi Tribe also declared an emergency after flooding displaced families in Moenkopi.

More rain was forecast for the weekend, including showers and thunderstorms Saturday, Oct. 24, and a chance of rain Sunday. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center also identified a risk of heavy precipitation in parts of the Four Corners region Oct. 31 through Nov. 2.

Residents can call the Navajo Nation Emergency Operations Center at 505-422-6597. In San Juan County, New Mexico, residents can dial 211 for assistance with services or locating family members.

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