Severe weather conditions continue to batter the Southwest, with communities preparing for another round of flooding this weekend. The region has been enduring relentless storms, causing significant devastation.
The Four Corners region, where New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona meet, has been particularly hard hit. Intense rainfall, hail, and even tornadoes have been reported, leaving residents on high alert. In Farmington, New Mexico, the Animas and San Juan Rivers have overflowed, submerging neighborhoods under thick mud and causing dramatic rescues.
Margret Heath, whose family lives in a low-lying area, recounted the terrifying moments when their home was overtaken by floodwaters. “When the water started to rise, it was pretty scary. My grandma doesn’t know how to swim, and by the time we could see that it was time to get out, it was waist-level deep, at least,” she said.
The destruction has displaced hundreds across the region, including within the Navajo Nation, where numerous homes and businesses have been destroyed. Thomas Donaldson, co-owner of Redemption Restoration and Cleaning in Farmington, described the scene in San Juan County as resembling a “zombie apocalypse,” with cars piled up and residents outside their homes.
At least one fatality was reported in New Mexico last weekend due to the floodwaters. The adverse weather is attributed to this year’s super El Niño, a natural climate pattern causing warming in the eastern Pacific, and an incoming atmospheric river known as the Pineapple Express. Jon Meyer, a climatologist at the Utah Climate Center, explained that the Pineapple Express acts like a conveyor belt, bringing substantial moisture from Hawaii to the West Coast.
“Not only do you get a lot of precipitation over a couple of hours, but it stacks up hour after hour, day after day,” Meyer said. The El Niño effect is believed to be intensifying the Pineapple Express, exacerbating the already challenging weather.
With the forecast predicting one to three more inches of rain from late tonight into Sunday, the region remains under a flood watch. Despite the hardships, community spirit is strong, with locals supporting each other through food and clothing drives. There is hope that festivities like trick-or-treating might still go ahead.
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
