LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Flooding across parts of the southwestern United States left some communities under evacuation orders and roads closed Monday, according to authorities and local media.
A man swept into floodwaters in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Sunday was found dead Monday, public radio station KNAU reported, citing police. In Phoenix and neighboring Scottsdale, firefighters rescued motorists trapped by floodwaters over the weekend, local broadcaster Arizona's Family reported.
In Nevada's Las Vegas Valley, multiple water rescues were reported Friday. One person rescued in Henderson later died at a hospital, broadcaster KTNV reported, citing a city spokesperson.
Downtown Pagosa Springs in Colorado remained evacuated Monday, its government said. Officials closed a bridge on U.S. Highway 160 after erosion threatened a museum building that could collapse into the San Juan River.
The town, which had reported most roads reopened and its sewer system stabilized last week, saw renewed flooding cause sewage discharge Sunday, threatening its still-weakened sanitation system.
The Colorado Department of Transportation estimated 65 million U.S. dollars in damage to federal-aid roadways last week, while warning that high water had prevented full inspections of bridges and other structures.
In New Mexico, damage in San Juan County and surrounding areas could exceed 200 million dollars, the governor's office said. Thousands of homes were damaged, and hundreds of water rescues were carried out between Farmington and Bloomfield.
Flooding around Bluff, Utah, displaced seven families and four businesses, the state's emergency management agency reported on Friday. Floodwaters also overtopped sewage lagoons in San Juan County, prompting warnings against contact with the river.
The San Juan River runs from Colorado through New Mexico and Utah into Lake Powell, linking communities affected by the flooding.
The late-October storms were among the most extreme in Colorado's history, state climatologist Russ Schumacher said in a Colorado Climate Center analysis. Several communities recorded their wettest two-day periods in records spanning at least a century.
Officials in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico have declared emergencies or sought federal assistance in response to the flooding. New Mexico's governor's office said a presidential emergency declaration had authorized direct federal assistance, while reimbursement requests remained pending.
Schumacher attributed the late-October rainfall to a low-pressure system that carried moisture from the Pacific northward. He also noted that El Nino conditions can favor wetter autumns in southern Colorado. ■
