Severe storms have battered parts of the Southwest for several weeks in a row, bringing intense rain, hail and even tornadoes to the Four Corners region, where New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona meet. Residents are now preparing for more bad weather as of Halloween weekend.
NPR reporter Ava Berger, who has spoken with people across the area, described the storms as nonstop and extremely difficult for those living there. Videos from the region have shown dramatic rooftop rescues, a shipping container floating down a street, and whole neighborhoods blanketed in thick, dark mud.
In Farmington, New Mexico, both the Animas and San Juan Rivers overflowed. Margret Heath said her family lives in a low-lying part of the city, and her grandmother's house was destroyed last week by powerful floodwaters. "When the water started to rise, it was pretty scary," Heath said. She explained that her grandmother cannot swim, and that by the time the family realized they had to leave, the water was at least waist-deep. The family barely made it to the top of a hill.
Heath's family is far from alone. Hundreds of residents across the region have been displaced, with homes flooded and damaged. Thomas Donaldson, co-owner of Redemption Restoration and Cleaning in Farmington, went out in San Juan County, New Mexico, on Monday. He said the scene reminded him of a zombie apocalypse movie, with people standing outside their homes and cars piled on top of one another.
The Navajo Nation, one of the largest tribal nations in the country, was among the hardest-hit areas, with dozens of homes and businesses destroyed. At least one person in New Mexico died last weekend after being swept away by floodwaters.
Climate scientists told Berger that this year's strong El Niño was a factor in last weekend's rain. El Niño is a natural climate pattern that occurs every few years when large amounts of water in the eastern Pacific warm. This weekend, a separate event known as an atmospheric river, or Pineapple Express, is also affecting the area. Jon Meyer, a climatologist at the Utah Climate Center, described it as a conveyor belt of wind that carries enormous amounts of moisture from Hawaii to the West Coast in narrow channels. "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. El Niño is likely helping push the system toward a region already hit hard.
Forecasters expect one to three more inches of rain from late Friday night into Sunday. A large part of the region is again under a flood watch, with more flash flooding likely. That raises the prospect that some families could face the same ordeal a second time.
Despite the hardship, Berger said communities are pulling together. A local restaurant is offering free food, clothing drives are underway, and there is some hope that trick-or-treaters will be able to go out on Halloween night.
