San Juan County urges riverside evacuations as New Mexico flood warnings expand

Evacuation call along two rivers

Emergency officials in San Juan County, New Mexico, urged people along the Animas and San Juan rivers to evacuate Thursday evening as water rose. The county sheriff’s office said it was receiving reports of flooding along both rivers and that a shelter had been set up at McGee Park. The warning applies to people near the water, not to every resident of the county. ^{[1] [2]}

KOAT reported that the county Office of Emergency Management told riverside residents to leave if water was getting close. A city of Farmington notice likewise directed people along the two rivers to McGee Park. Officials had not provided a verified number of evacuees in the updates reviewed, so the scale of displacement remains unclear. ^{[2] [3]}

What forecasters expect

The National Weather Service in Albuquerque issued flood warnings Thursday evening for the Animas River at Farmington and the San Juan River at Farmington and Shiprock. All three forecasts called for minor flooding, but at different times. The Animas was projected to reach 11 feet late Friday evening, above its 10-foot flood stage, with a warning lasting into Saturday evening. ^[4]

At Farmington, the San Juan was forecast to crest at 8.9 feet just after midnight Thursday, compared with an 8.5-foot flood stage. At Shiprock, the forecast called for a crest of 17.3 feet early Saturday, compared with a 15.5-foot flood stage. Those numbers are forecasts, not measurements of the eventual peaks; additional rain and upstream flows can change the outlook. ^[4]

The weather service said a 10-foot stage on the Animas could flood portions of Farmington’s riverwalk and produce local overbank flooding downstream. Along the San Juan, it identified backwater flooding near the confluence with the Animas as a concern around Farmington, and low-lying and agricultural land as vulnerable farther downstream toward Shiprock. These are location-specific impacts, not a prediction that all of either city will flood. ^[4]

A regional storm, with distinct local orders

The New Mexico evacuation call is separate from alerts in neighboring southern Colorado. In Archuleta County, authorities warned people in low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo and Piedra rivers, KOAT reported. Pagosa Springs is in Colorado’s Archuleta County; it should not be mistaken for the New Mexico county named in this alert. San Juan County, Utah, has also experienced flooding in the wider storm system, but its warnings concern a different jurisdiction. ^{[3] [5]}

The available county, weather-service and local-news updates did not establish an injury or death tally for this New Mexico river episode. That is not confirmation that nobody was hurt. Residents should follow local emergency instructions, keep away from unstable riverbanks and never drive through water covering a road. The weather service said it expected to issue its next river statement Friday afternoon, making the warning and crest times subject to revision. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}