Flash floods trigger evacuations in Arizona and Colorado amid heavy rains in southwest

SEDONA, Ariz. (AP) — Flash flooding prompted mandatory evacuation orders in parts of the Southwest on Sunday as heavy rains in the normally arid region have already brought deadly flooding this fall.

Officials in the tourist destination of Sedona, Arizona, ordered residents in areas near Oak Creek to leave immediately as flood waters were rising rapidly and multiple people were already trapped in their homes.

In southwestern Colorado, officials in Pagosa Springs, also a tourist destination, warned in a Facebook post of potentially “catastrophic flooding” as the San Juan River is forecast to crest at more than 19 feet (5.8 meters) around 11:00 p.m. Sunday.

“To put the forecast into perspective, during the devastating 1911 flood that wiped out most of what existed as the town of Pagosa at that time, the San Juan River crested at approximately 17.8 feet (5.4 meters),” the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office said in a separate Facebook post. “This is a potentially catastrophic flood event. Extensive damage is expected.”

The latest round of soaking rains started Saturday evening and were expected to bring flash flooding to already saturated areas through Monday. The National Weather Service estimates as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain could fall across the region, fueled by a series of Pacific storm systems.

The weather service issued flood watches for nearly all of Arizona and parts of southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, and western New Mexico, in addition to part of southern Nevada. That includes the sparsely populated Four Corners region where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.

Pagosa Springs officials said anyone in low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo and Piedra Rivers should head to a designated shelter at a local church.

They said residents should leave immediately, and not wait as emergency crews may be extremely limited during the worst of the storm. The highway entering the hot springs town also would be shut down to inbound traffic Sunday afternoon, town officials added.

Meanwhile in Sedona, local officials ordered residents living in affected areas to head to Sedona Red Rock High School. But they urged people not to attempt to drive across roads with rushing waters and to stay away from creek beds and washes.

Sedona Fire District Chief Ed Mezulis said in a short clip posted on Facebook that emergency crews from surrounding communities were coming in to assist as local fire and police officials were already responding to multiple reports of residents trapped in their homes due to the rising flood waters.

“Please stay at high ground, watch your alerts and be careful,” he advised.

A video shared by the fire department showed powerful flood waters inundating vehicles and rushing past homes and other structures. Other videos and photos shared on social media showed people standing on a pedestrian bridge taking photos and videos as churning, brown waters rushed underneath.