Four Corners region faces more flood threats following days of heavy rain

Key points

• The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of the Four Corners region on Sunday.
• Floodwaters in San Juan County, New Mexico, are receding but left mud and silt, some contaminated by sewage.
• No loss of life has been reported, but damage assessments are incomplete and power outages persist.

A rain-soaked section of the Southwest U.S. prepared Sunday for more potentially heavy showers and thunderstorms after days of rain led to evacuations and water rescues. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of the Four Corners area, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet, as local officials expected swollen rivers to continue receding.

CBS News meteorologist Andrew Kozak said repeated torrential rain could flood roads, small streams, narrow canyons and burn scars. The rain was forecast to spread across the central and northern Plains on Sunday night and then move toward the Upper Midwest on Monday and Tuesday.

Flooding in Colorado and New Mexico

The Colorado Department of Transportation said water flow in the San Juan River rose significantly overnight, and the San Juan River Bridge remained closed Sunday. Video shared with CBS Colorado showed a house in Pagosa Springs covered by floodwaters, with only a small piece of the roof and the chimney visible. Resident Chris Mott said in another video that the water "moved sandbags and everything."

In San Juan County, New Mexico, about 4 feet of water flooded the home of Sheriff Shane Ferrari. He said the situation was stable Sunday, but residents were cleaning up and dealing with damage. County spokesperson Devin Neeley said there were no official figures on home damage or the number of evacuees, and he was not aware of any loss of life.

It's a pretty active disaster zone. We're not on the downswing by any means.

— San Juan County spokesperson Devin Neeley

Contamination and power outages

Neeley said the receding floodwaters left mud and silt, much of it contaminated with sewage because of failures at waste plants. Power outages continued in multiple areas, and he said it would likely be a few days before residents had electricity again. He described the area as "a pretty active disaster zone" and said, "We're not on the downswing by any means."

The flooding is the latest from two months of on-and-off heavy rain caused by tropical moisture coming ashore from the Pacific. After months of drought, other recent deadly flooding struck the Grand Canyon and areas of New Mexico.