Rain Clears Over the Southwest, but Flood Risk Stays High: More Than 20 Trillion Gallons Fell in Two Weeks, an Expert Says
The rain is clearing over the storm-weary Southwest, but the flood risk remains high, the Associated Press reported Monday night. An expert says more than 20 trillion gallons of water fell on the Four Corners states and Nevada in the past two weeks, swift-water rescue teams are still busy, and the San Juan River in New Mexico - where evacuations were ordered - was still rising and could crest over the coming days.
Rain is clearing but the risk of flooding remains high in storm-weary parts of the Southwest, the Associated Press reported in its News Summary at 11:39 p.m. Eastern on Monday, a file opened and read directly by the desk this run. An expert says over 20 trillion gallons of water has fallen on the Four Corners states and Nevada in the past two weeks, and the flooding has kept swift-water rescue teams busy.
The human count in the updated file: one person died after falling into floodwaters in Flagstaff, Arizona, and police suspect a second death also is weather-related, the AP reported. Evacuations were also ordered along the San Juan River in New Mexico, which officials warned was still rising and could crest over the coming days - the river is the story now, even as the skies clear.
This is the update chapter of the file this desk published Monday evening (SQ-20261102-070), when the floods forced evacuations and moved Election Day plans in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. What is new tonight is the scale figure - 20 trillion gallons in two weeks over a normally arid region - the second suspected death as police described it, and the crest still to come on the San Juan. Deaths are reported only as officials described them to the AP.
Election Day arrives in the region with the water still in it: a Colorado voting centre was already moved by the flooding in the earlier file, and the San Juan County evacuations in New Mexico stood at about 20,000 alerts. The rain stopping is not the emergency ending, and the AP's update is reported as exactly that. Standards Editor JAX-006 passed this file.
