Severe storms affected much of New Mexico on Saturday and caused damage in Santa Fe as a possible tornado moved through the area.
Flooding was once again a concern in northwest New Mexico as rivers were expected to remain high due to Saturday’s precipitation.
Here’s everything we’re tracking today:
Possible tornado causes damage in Santa Fe
A severe thunderstorm triggered a tornado warning for the city of Santa Fe on Saturday.
As storms moved through the city, several residents reported what appeared to be funnel clouds during the evening. The storm damaged the area of Los Cedros and Camino Carlos Ray neighborhoods in Santa Fe.
Santa Fe police said homes were damaged, gas lines were hit and several trees were uprooted, causing power lines to come down.
A shelter in place that had been issued for the area has been lifted.
City crews and police are urging caution in the area as storm recovery efforts begin Sunday morning.
Family initially refused to evacuate from San Juan County floods
Historic flooding in northern New Mexico has caused significant damage, displacing families, prompting evacuations and leading to hundreds of rescues as water continues to flow into homes and neighborhoods.
A San Juan County family shared their experience of initially ignoring evacuation orders and is now urging others to take them seriously.
“We got the evacuation notices, but it was our house. You know, we had everything in there. Our furniture, our paintings, everything we’ve done since we were in kindergarten. So we didn’t evacuate, we didn’t want to leave,” Adriannah Romero said.
Water began to seep under the front door and urgent calls from a neighbor convinced the family to leave.
“As soon as (my father) opened (the door), the water came in, broke the screen and flooded our house. It was at least up to my shins,” Romero said. “My little brother, I think he thought he was dreaming, he went back to bed, so we had to go home.”
His father placed the children on top of parked cars to keep them above the water before returning to get the essentials.
“Just my dog, my siblings, my phone, my charger and my dad’s keys. That was it. We had to get out of there,” she said.
The family’s vehicle struggled to navigate the deep floodwaters as they sought to reach safety.
“It was like swimming in there. You could barely press the gas and brakes,” Adriannah said.
The family is among thousands affected by the floods. Emmeri Ortega, San Juan County’s only 211 operator, is organizing a team of volunteers to help answer calls to the community hotline.
“People don’t know where to start. They call me and say, ‘I’ve lost absolutely everything. Where should I go? Where do I go from here?’” Ortega said.
Families rushed to flee, leaving behind homes, RVs, cars and, in some cases, pets and livestock.
“Another thing that concerns us a lot is that a lot of the homeless population lives near the river, so we don’t know how many of them actually made it out,” Ortega said.
This once-in-a-generation flood prompted the close-knit community to take action.
“I’ve had more people call me to give their time and make donations than people who have called me and asked for help,” Ortega said.
Adriannah said her family had received support from the entire community.
“We had support from all religions, all churches, the Baptist church, the Catholic church, the Mormon churches, our soccer teams, our whole family, my little sister’s soccer teams, everyone’s parents. They all called,” Adriannah said.
The family currently resides in an Airbnb in the hills of Farmington.
San Juan County officials are asking the public to stay out of evacuated areas until they are declared safe, noting that intruders are distracting emergency crews from rescue missions.
As of Saturday afternoon, officials said they had made between 200 and 300 rescues, as crews continued to check door to door to make sure everyone was evacuated.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said another surge of water was expected overnight on the San Juan River after thunderstorms sent runoff into the river. Other neighborhoods are being evacuated after monitoring stations on the San Juan and Animas rivers failed, according to the county Office of Emergency Management.
Authorities are urging evacuees not to return home due to hidden dangers of flooding, stressing that there are currently no return plans. Crews continue to assist with evacuations as many residents fear the possibility of losing their homes.
Navajo Nation responds to historic flooding in Shiprock
Flooding from the San Juan River left homes and neighborhoods in Shiprock underwater, prompting Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren to address the community during this difficult time.
“Our teams are really trying to respond and doing everything we can to mitigate and at the same time respond as well,” Nygren said.
“We’re going to work on this. It won’t be in the next few days, but in the next few weeks that the Navajo Nation will have to respond to the devastation that we feel right now,” he said.
Nygren posted a video on his social media pages showing the damage in the Shiprock area. The images revealed playgrounds partially submerged in floodwaters and the San Juan River surging past a bridge.
Nygren added that he is working with his fellow Navajo Nation legislators to draft legislation to allocate $10 million for disaster relief efforts.
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