Flooding Forces Evacuations Along San Juan, Animas Rivers in New Mexico

Evacuation order in San Juan County

The San Juan County Office of Emergency Management told residents living along the Animas and San Juan rivers in and around Farmington, New Mexico, to leave immediately as water levels rose on October 22, 2026.

County officials opened a shelter at McGee Park for displaced residents and set aside the RV1 parking lot for evacuees arriving with recreational vehicles. Officials said they were receiving reports of flooding along both rivers and expected levels to keep rising through the evening.

River gauges approach rare levels

The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque issued flood warnings for both rivers through October 24. According to the warnings, a crest at or above 10 feet on the San Juan River at Farmington would produce flooding not seen since before the Navajo Dam was completed in 1962, with backwater flooding at the Animas-San Juan confluence identified as the main concern for the Farmington area and low-lying agricultural land downstream toward Shiprock.

The Animas River warning said both rivers were expected to fall back below flood stage by Saturday morning, and that minor flooding was already occurring along the lower Animas, with sections of the Farmington riverwalk expected to flood once the river reaches the 10-foot mark.

Flooding also forces evacuations in Colorado

The same storm system drove the San Juan River and three of its tributaries toward flood stage further upstream in southwestern Colorado. The Archuleta County Sheriff's Office issued a mandatory evacuation order shortly before 2 p.m. on October 22 for low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo and Piedra rivers.

Pagosa Springs closed riverside hike-and-bike trails, several town parks and two boat ramps, and warned residents to stay out of the San Juan River because of high, swift-moving water. An evacuation center opened at the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association Clubhouse, and sandbags were made available at the Archuleta County Building and the Tara Community Center in Arboles.

• Highway 160 was closed between Wolf Creek Pass and South Fork near the Park Creek Bridge, where 8 to 10 inches of water and debris flowed over the road.
• County Road 509 in La Plata County partly collapsed after a culvert failed amid heavy rain, mud and debris; County Roads 309A and 334 were also closed.
• U.S. 550 over Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray was closed as a precaution, with CO 145 through Telluride recommended as an alternate route.
• South Fork Fire Rescue issued evacuation notices along the South Fork of the Rio Grande and the River Green subdivision in Rio Grande County, citing the potential for levels higher than those seen in 2025; 5 to 10 homes reported minor flooding there.

What is known and what is not

As of the warnings in effect through October 24, officials had not released a count of how many homes or residents were under evacuation orders in either state, and no damage assessments for this specific event had been published by county emergency managers at the time of writing. Both the Animas and San Juan rivers in New Mexico were forecast to recede below flood stage by Saturday morning.