The Shiprock bridge over the San Juan River was shut down in the early morning hours of Oct. 24 and rescue operations were carried out overnight to bring people in flooded areas to safety, according to the Navajo Nation Police Department.
A nearby wastewater treatment plant also was affected, with raw sewage flowing into the San Juan River.
Shiprock, N.M., located in the Four Corners region, experienced heavy rainfall throughout the week, along with other New Mexico communities along the San Juan and Animas rivers. The bridge serves as a major transportation corridor, connecting Navajo communities in Arizona with communities in northwestern New Mexico and providing routes into Colorado.
Rescue operations remain underway, with efforts focused on Farmington,
N.M., and west toward Shiprock. Overnight, first responders carried out 20 rescues, with multiple people involved in several of those operations, police said.
During an Oct. 23 San Juan County emergency management briefing, Navajo Nation police urged residents in potentially affected areas to begin preparing for water levels to rise in Shiprock. Donnie Kee, deputy chief of Navajo police, also said the agency's resources have been stretched thin.
"Make your evacuation pickup preparations for yourself, your families as well as your animals," said Kee.
Power outages were reported south of the San Juan River in Shiprock. The Navajo Parks and Recreation Department also closed nearby Four Corners Monument on Oct. 23 after the Animas River crested and flooded the area. The monument remained closed on Oct. 24 because of the unsafe conditions.
Floodwaters along the San Juan River affected a nearby water reclamation facility in Bloomfield, N.M., forcing a temporary shutdown of wastewater treatment operations. The facility has since resumed operations.
The disruption raised concerns about wastewater from Bloomfield entering the San Juan River and potentially affecting communities, including Shiprock.
Devin Neely, San Juan County public information officer, announced that because of the "breach with the sewer system" in Bloomfield, "the San Juan River is a hazmat situation."
"Do not go in the water. This is a dangerous situation," said Neely said. "There is raw sewage in the river, and there is nothing that we can do to mitigate that at this point."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Floodwaters hit Four Corners with rescues and Shiprock bridge closure
