Flood warning lingers in Four Corners as soaked towns face sewage-tainted waters. 1 death reported

Parts of the Southwest’s Four Corners region remained under a flood warning Monday as some saturated neighborhoods began cleaning up, assessing damage and watching out for water that could be contaminated with chemicals and raw sewage. Flooding caused by excessive rainfall happened Monday along the San Juan River in parts of the Four Corners region, the meeting point of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. The area has experienced unusually heavy rain since Wednesday that caused rivers to surge, flooding homes and forcing water rescues.

Storms led to a tornado that touched down in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Saturday night. One flooding-related death was reported in Santa Fe on Saturday during a water rescue of a family that had attempted to cross a flooded arroyo in their vehicle, the county sheriff’s office said. A father and child were able to get onto land, but a female passenger was swept away by the current and was found dead a mile away, the office said.

Rising river has led to evacuations in Utah and Colorado By Monday morning, the San Juan River was 1 1/2 feet (45.7 centimeters) above the flood stage of 23 feet (7 meters), the National Weather Service said. It was expected to crest to 31 feet (9.4 meters) later Monday, then fall below flood stage by Tuesday morning. 10, 1927, when the river crested at 32 feet (9.7 meters), the weather service said.

Some residents in one community along the river, Bluff, Utah, were evacuated over the weekend but were allowed to return early Monday. Returning residents and businesses should use caution as several properties were still flooded, county officials said. “Stay out of the San Juan River,” the weather service said.

“Water levels remain elevated, and possible sewage contamination poses additional health risks.” Farmington area deals with evacuations and power outage In the Farmington area of New Mexico, local officials said swollen rivers were receding, but that many people remained evacuated and hundreds were without power. San Juan County, New Mexico, did not have official figures on the number of homes damaged or how many people were evacuated, spokesperson Devin Neeley told The Associated Press. “It’s a pretty active disaster zone,” he said.

Michelle Lujan Grisham and Major General Miguel Aguilar of the New Mexico National Guard planned to visit the county Monday to survey dam…