Navajo Nation's Shiprock faces major San Juan River flood, second in 10 days

L2Who’s affected

The Navajo Police Department at Shiprock asked everyone living within a half mile of the San Juan River to leave as a precaution on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 1, and the Utah Navajo Health Systems EMS station in Montezuma Creek, Utah, opened as a shelter, the San Juan Record reported. It said emergency management in San Juan County, N.M., issued evacuations for residents within a half mile of the Animas and San Juan rivers. The Navajo Times reported that county officials told residents near the Animas and La Plata rivers to evacuate immediately and that McGee Park in Farmington was open for evacuees. In Dennehotso, Ariz., flooding left the Dennehotso Loop (Navajo Routes 6460 and 6461) impassable, making it difficult for some families to reach their homes and livestock, the Navajo Times reported.

L3Why it’s quiet

Analysis · OVERLOOKED AP's national story on Monday leads with Pagosa Springs and Sedona. It says only that the San Juan was still rising downstream in New Mexico, where new evacuations were ordered for some residents of San Juan County, "including some Navajo communities." It does not mention Shiprock or the major-flood forecast.

L4Deeper impact

It is the second flood here in about 10 days. A NOAA gauge at Shiprock peaked at 21.2 feet early on Oct. 24 (provisional data). The Kiowa County Press reports that the first flood pushed the San Juan at Four Corners to 54,100 cubic feet per second. Upstream, the weather service says the Animas River at Farmington was at 11.3 feet Monday morning and is forecast to crest at 12.5 feet this afternoon. At 12 feet, the bulletin says, "water levels have not been this high since the flood of 1927." The Animas near Cedar Hill is in major flood, and the bulletin says it "approaches the flood of record." The La Plata River "is impacting the bridge over Pinon Hills near Farmington." The Navajo Times says the Navajo Division of Transportation has been responding to major washouts through the Navajo Nation Emergency Operations Center, in communities "still recovering from October's storms."

L5Full context

AP says the weather service estimated as much as 4 inches of rain could fall across the region through Monday, fueled by a series of Pacific storm systems. The weather service office in Grand Junction, Colo., issued a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" flood warning for five Colorado counties and one in Utah, the Kiowa County Press reported. The Shiprock forecast has risen sharply: on Nov. 1 the Navajo Times cited a predicted crest of 16.2 feet; Monday's forecast is 20.7 feet. The weather service's next statement is due at 9:45 p.m. MST.

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