The massive amounts of water that flooded parts of the U.S. Southwest turned some communities into lakes of mud, leaving residents dealing with the loss of homes and businesses as they started cleaning up Tuesday.
asserted
they → flood → homes
Jack Ellis, a retired school teacher, surveyed the damage along the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, which went through two rounds of severe flooding in recent weeks.
asserted
which → survey → weeks
“This is quite a disaster for everybody, especially in the low-lying areas,” Ellis said.
asserted
Ellis → lie → areas
“We dig in and dig out, and that’s what it’s going to take."
asserted
it → dig → what
More than 20 trillion gallons of rain have fallen on the Four Corners states and Nevada in the past two weeks, according to calculations by former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue.
uncertain
gallons → fall → Maue
The skies were clearing on Tuesday, but flood risks remained as all that water moves through the dry landscape where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet.
asserted
Colorado → clear → landscape
While hundreds of evacuees were returning home, swift-water rescue teams were kept busy.
asserted
teams → return → evacuees
One person died in the floodwaters and police suspect a second death was weather-related.
asserted
death → die → floodwaters
Some communities in Colorado and Utah made alternative Election Day voting plans because of the flooding.
asserted
communities → make → flooding
And as downpours swamped parts of Florida, some polling places were changed in at least eight counties after Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an emergency declaration.
asserted
DeSantis → swamp → declaration
Officials said the cleanup and repairs could take weeks or more in Pagosa Springs, walkways and bridges collapsed or were heavily damaged.
uncertain
walkways → say → Springs
A sign in front of a resort where the entrance was covered with a tarp and sandbags were stacked, a sign read “Love Pagosa.”
asserted
sign → cover → Pagosa
“I hope the federal government helps out a little bit.
asserted
government → hope → ?
I know we’re a blue state.
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we → know → ?
I just hope that they come through because we all pay taxes and we all work for each other in a time like this,” Ellis said.
asserted
Ellis → hope → this
In Durango, about 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) to the west, Willow Bradner's ranch-style home was surrounded by about 2 feet (60 centimeters) of mud.
asserted
home → surround → mud
Nearly five feet (1.5 meters) of water from the overflowing Junction Creek poured inside at one point.
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feet → overflow → point
“Our basement became a soup bowl,” she said.
asserted
she → become → ?
The basement had been a selling point when she bought the property in 2024.
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she → buy → 2024
Bradner, who runs a small custom closet and storage business with her husband, said they had asked if they needed flood insurance, and were told they were outside the flood zone.
asserted
they → run → zone
While the couple and their teenage daughter have been offered a place to stay through the end of the year, and they've been offered the help of countless strangers armed with shovels, the loss of their home and uncertainty over the future is overwhelming.
"The majority of our savings is in this house,” she said.
asserted
she → offer → house
“We have to dig deep and we have to rebuild.”
Officials in New Mexico's San Juan County, where there have been a number of evacuations, said the major rivers, including the San Juan, Animas and La Plata, have all crested.
asserted
rivers → have → Juan
“None are below flood stage, but will continue to recede,” the agency posted online Tuesday.
asserted
agency → continue → stage
“We believe that the crest has passed on all rivers, but it will take 24-48 hours for floodwaters to recede.”
asserted
floodwaters → believe → hours
___
AP journalists Savannah Peters in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire contributed.
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Peters → contribute → Concord
The Aporia
