PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colorado, November 2, 2026 — The Southwest US floods have forced evacuations, closed roads and damaged homes after unusually heavy rain, while officials in one Colorado town changed Election Day arrangements for residents displaced or cut off by rising water. One death in Flagstaff, Arizona, has been confirmed; police are investigating a second death that may also be weather-related. Rivers in parts of Arizona and southwestern Colorado reached major flood levels, and emergency officials warned that dangerous conditions could persist even as the heaviest rain moves away.
The emergency spans several states rather than a single flood zone. Reports from the Associated Press and The Washington Post describe severe impacts in northern and central Arizona, southwestern Colorado, parts of New Mexico and Utah, and Nevada. The rain has arrived in a region already dealing with recent flooding, leaving roads, drainage systems and communities with little time to recover before another surge of water.
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In Pagosa Springs, Colorado, the San Juan River rose to 16.81 feet late Sunday night before beginning to recede, according to figures reported by the National Weather Service and cited by the two news organisations. The level was dangerous but remained below the river’s approximate 17.8-foot crest during the devastating 1911 flood, which destroyed much of the settlement that existed at the time. Earlier forecasts had warned that the river could approach or exceed historic levels, prompting authorities to urge people in vulnerable areas to leave.
The retreat from the peak does not mean the town is out of danger. Floodwater can continue moving through streets, low-lying properties and drainage channels after rainfall eases, while saturated ground and damaged crossings can make travel unsafe. The Town of Pagosa Springs has urged residents to shelter in place and avoid non-essential trips, while maintaining that mandatory evacuation orders remain in force wherever they have been issued. Those instructions are not contradictory: people inside an evacuation zone must leave as directed, while residents elsewhere should stay off hazardous roads unless travel is necessary.
Flooding has also affected the wider San Juan River corridor and other waterways across the Four Corners region, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. The Associated Press reported evacuations along rivers in Colorado and New Mexico, including areas where residents were stranded or access routes were cut. In southwestern Colorado, authorities were checking on people who had remained at home during the rise of the Animas River. Police warned that rescue teams were already heavily engaged and asked residents not to create additional emergencies by entering high water or using closed rivers for recreation.
In New Mexico, river flooding and road closures disrupted access to communities, campgrounds and fishing areas. The village of Chama was reported evacuated and cut off by road closures, while rising water along the Jemez River made some recreation sites inaccessible. On the Navajo Nation, washed-out routes and highway closures complicated movement in remote areas. These disruptions matter well beyond tourism: when bridges and roads fail, they can delay emergency services, medical trips, food deliveries and the movement of fuel and other essentials.
Arizona experienced some of the most striking rainfall totals. The Associated Press reported that Workman Creek, in a wilderness area northeast of Phoenix, recorded 7.3 inches of rain over two days. Flagstaff received 5.15 inches over the same period, contributing to its wettest November 1 on record. The totals were reported as local measurements, not statewide averages; rainfall can vary substantially across mountain slopes, valleys and urban areas during a broad storm system.
In Flagstaff, police said a 73-year-old man, Williams Singavarapu, was seen entering fast-moving water that drained into a tunnel near Northern Arizona University. His body was found about 12 hours later, according to the Associated Press. Police also reported finding another man dead in a storm-water drainage area, but said the cause and manner of that death had not yet been formally established. The second case should therefore not be counted as a confirmed flood fatality until authorities complete their investigation.
Floodwater also trapped people in homes near Oak Creek in Sedona, prompting evacuation orders. The heavy rain damaged a major road between Flagstaff and Sedona, leaving debris, trees and damaged guardrails across sections of the route. Transport crews were working to clear the road and assess repairs. In parts of central Arizona, residents reported sewage backing up into homes as drainage systems came under pressure, while manhole covers were displaced by rising water.
Farther south, swift-water rescue teams responded to people caught in flooded washes around Tucson. The National Weather Service described the rainfall as unusually concentrated, with amounts in some locations comparable to several months of typical rain falling over a short period. That kind of downpour can overwhelm storm drains and turn normally dry channels into fast-moving torrents, particularly where runoff flows from higher ground into roads, neighbourhoods or underpasses.
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The Southwest US floods have forced local officials in Pagosa Springs to adapt how some residents can cast or return ballots ahead of the November 3 midterm election. The Archuleta County public information page says the drop box at Town Hall is closed because of flooding. A mobile ballot drop box has been arranged at 10 Solomon Drive, in the parking area identified by county officials, and is scheduled to operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. The county has also published alternative arrangements for people whose usual routes or voting locations have been affected.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s office said residents affected by evacuations or road closures can seek a replacement mail ballot at voter centres elsewhere in the state. The rules for casting a ballot away from a voter’s home county are more limited: people voting in person outside their county can vote only in statewide races, while a completed mail ballot can be returned to a drop box or voter centre elsewhere in the state by the 7 p.m. Election Day deadline. The distinction matters because a replacement ballot, an in-person vote and the return of an already completed mail ballot are not interchangeable procedures.
Local election officials have also had to account for damaged roads and disrupted public offices. The La Plata County clerk’s office planned special hours on Tuesday, while voting centres were expected to remain open under the arrangements reported Monday. Residents should confirm their own county’s current instructions before setting out, especially if an evacuation, road closure or relocation notice affects their normal route. Election officials’ guidance takes precedence over old maps, social-media posts or assumptions that a familiar drop box is still accessible.
Making voting available during a disaster requires more than keeping a polling room open. Officials must preserve ballot custody, ensure voters can reach an authorised location, explain which contests may be voted on outside a home county and provide a lawful way to replace or return ballots. Flooding can also affect election workers, delivery routes and access to county offices. The arrangements in Archuleta County are a local response to the emergency; they should not be read as a statewide suspension of normal election rules.
The Washington Post described the system as the first atmospheric river of the Southwest season, bringing as much as five times the usual November rainfall to some locations. An atmospheric river is a long, concentrated corridor of moisture in the atmosphere. When it encounters terrain that forces air upward, it can produce prolonged and sometimes intense precipitation. The effects are amplified when soils are already wet, rivers are elevated or drainage systems have been damaged by earlier storms.
El Niño conditions in the Pacific have also been part of the wider weather context cited by meteorologists and news reports. El Niño changes large-scale atmospheric circulation and can alter storm tracks, but it does not by itself prove why a particular flood occurred. Establishing the contribution of climate change to a specific event requires dedicated scientific analysis. For this emergency, the confirmed facts are the measured rainfall, observed river levels, reported evacuations and documented damage; any attribution beyond those facts should be made carefully.
The scale of the recent rainfall has revived a difficult question for a region facing a long-running water-supply challenge: can extreme precipitation help replenish reservoirs even as it causes severe damage? The answer is not straightforward. The Washington Post reported that Lake Powell storage had risen from a mid-September low of about 20.2% of capacity to roughly 23.7% by Saturday, but the reservoir remained below its level a year earlier. Floodwater may run off rapidly, carry sediment, damage infrastructure or flow through a basin without being stored where it is most needed. A short-term rise in reservoir levels is not evidence that the Colorado River Basin’s underlying water problems have been resolved.
The emergency also shows how repeated events can compound damage. A community that has just cleared debris, reopened roads or repaired drainage after one flood may be more vulnerable when another system arrives before recovery is complete. Saturated ground can reduce the amount of additional rainfall that can be absorbed; damaged bridges and culverts can restrict flow; and residents may be forced to evacuate more than once. The region’s recent flooding has made preparedness, reliable warnings and safe access routes as important as the rainfall forecast itself.
Authorities will need to monitor river levels, road conditions, damaged bridges and the safety of buildings in areas that were inundated. A falling river gauge is encouraging, but it does not automatically mean that a road, bridge or home is safe to enter. Water can undermine roadbeds, leave debris across crossings and contaminate low-lying areas. In Pagosa Springs, the town has separately warned about sewage entering the San Juan River near the First Street Bridge, advising people to avoid contact with river water and floodwater, including downstream.
Residents should follow current evacuation orders, stay clear of barricaded roads and never drive or walk through floodwater. People who have been told to leave an area should not return until officials issue an all-clear. Anyone whose home, workplace or travel route has been affected should rely on local emergency management and transport notices rather than assume that improving weather means hazards have passed. In the affected Colorado communities, the county has published incident and shelter information, while election officials have posted specific voting arrangements for November 3.
For emergency planners, the immediate priorities are to account for residents who may be isolated, keep rescue routes open, inspect damaged crossings and communicate changes in a way that reaches people without reliable road access. For election officials, the task is to keep voting lawful and accessible while ensuring that emergency closures do not send voters toward unsafe locations. The next updates will depend on new river observations, damage assessments and local decisions about road access, evacuation zones and voting facilities.
The broad rainfall system is moving away from some areas, but the consequences will outlast the rain itself. One death has been confirmed in Flagstaff, another remains under investigation, and the full extent of damage across Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is still being assessed. The most useful measure of progress will be the safe reopening of routes and services, the completion of rescue and inspection work, and clear official guidance for residents whose homes or voting arrangements have been affected.