More flooding possible in Four Corners region after days of heavy rain

A rain-soaked swath of the Southwest U.S. braced for the possibility of additional flooding as crews in New Mexico scoured evacuated neighborhoods Sunday for dead animals, downed power lines and other hazards left behind by receding floodwaters.

With more showers and thunderstorms in the forecast, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of the Four Corners region — the meeting point of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The area has experienced unusually heavy rain since Wednesday that caused rivers to surge, flooding homes and forcing water rescues.

“The soils are very saturated right now, so it’s not going to take much rain for at least the small creeks and streams to overflow,” said Kris Sanders, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Grand Junction, Colorado.

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, but officials were not aware of any deaths, spokesperson Devin Neeley told The Associated Press.

“It’s a pretty active disaster zone,” he said.

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business