FARMINGTON, New Mexico — Records are being “shattered” on all three rivers that run through San Juan County, county spokesman Devin Neeley said on Monday, November 2, 2026, as the Animas, La Plata and San Juan rivers rose to levels not seen in about 100 years, breached their banks in Farmington, closed bridges and roads across the county and forced immediate evacuations in downtown Farmington and everywhere within half a mile of the three rivers.
Source: Tri-City Record
The Animas River breached its banks in Farmington at about 10:30 a.m. Monday, just south of the Broadway Bridge, Neeley told the Tri-City Record. Boyd Park flooded shortly before 10 a.m., Piñon Street was under water at Miller Street on Monday morning, the Miller Street Bridge is closed because of flooding, and the city lost the retaining wall where Butler Avenue turns into Piñon Street, Neeley said.
The official numbers: National Weather Service warning runs until Wednesday morning
The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque issued a flood warning for the Animas River at Farmington on Monday at 11:39 a.m. MST, in effect until Wednesday morning, November 4. The Weather Service said moderate flooding was occurring and more was forecast: the stage was 12.2 feet at 10:30 a.m. Monday, the maximum stage in the previous 24 hours was 12.3 feet, and the river was forecast to rise to 12.6 feet on Monday afternoon before falling and rising again. Flood stage is 10.0 feet. At 12.0 feet, the Weather Service said, the riverwalk area in Farmington is flooded and should be avoided — and it underlined the history: “Water levels have not been this high since the flood of 1927.”
Source: National Weather Service Albuquerque via GovOneStop
The La Plata River was, if anything, more extreme. “There is 14 feet of water in La Plata River, and it is continuing to climb,” Neeley told the Tri-City Record on Monday, adding that the highest level previously recorded on the La Plata was 11.3 feet, more than 100 years ago. And none of the three rivers had finished rising: “The Animas is still rising. I don't think we've seen the peak at Cedar Hill,” Neeley said. “So far none of the rivers have crested. We haven't seen them flowing as high as we expect them to flow in 24 hours.”
Who must leave: downtown Farmington and every home within half a mile of the rivers
The San Juan County Office of Emergency Management called for an immediate evacuation from Cedar Street to Murray Drive and from Broadway Avenue to Auburn Avenue in Farmington, the Tri-City Record reported. Beyond downtown, evacuations are in place for anyone who lives within 0.5 miles of the Animas, La Plata and San Juan rivers anywhere in the county. Newsradio KKOB, summarizing the county orders, listed the evacuation areas as Cedar Street to Murray Drive and Broadway Avenue to Auburn Avenue in Farmington; all locations within a half-mile of the three rivers throughout the county; areas along the San Juan River from Hogback to Four Corners; and the stretch from the New Mexico–Colorado state line to the confluence of the Animas and San Juan rivers in Farmington.
Source: Newsradio KKOB
“It is vital that people evacuate,” Neeley said, warning that the county could reach a situation where transportation itself becomes impacted. Emergency shelters have been established for displaced residents at McGee Park at the San Juan County Fairgrounds, KKOB reported. Schools in the Farmington, Bloomfield and Shiprock areas were closed on Monday because of the weather emergency. San Juan Regional Medical Center sits near the evacuation area but has not been asked to evacuate: “We are in close contact with the Emergency Operation Center at the county,” hospital spokeswoman Laura Werbner told the Tri-City Record.
Farmington Electric Utility Service is “shutting down power to protect infrastructure, and people who are in the water” conducting rescue operations, Neeley said. “Forced and planned outages” will continue, and one area already without power on Monday was Wild Horse Valley. Anyone in the evacuation zones should leave before roads become impassable — the county's warning is that waiting could leave residents cut off.
Roads closed across San Juan County
The rising water made roads and bridges impassable across the area. The Tri-City Record listed closures including County Road 5500; U.S. Highway 64 from New Mexico Highway 511 to Dulce; Highway 539 in Navajo Lake State Park; County Road 3000 east of Piñon Hills Boulevard; County Roads 5005 and 5008 in Bloomfield; and most roads south of Broadway in Farmington. Piñon Hills Boulevard was also closed at County Road 3000 on Monday morning because of the rising Animas River. For truckers and other drivers crossing northwestern New Mexico — US 64 is a key east-west freight route through Farmington toward Dulce and the Colorado line — the practical message is to check closures before setting out and never to drive around barricades or through flooded roads, the standard warning the National Weather Service repeated in its flood warning: “Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.”
Where the water is coming from: rain in Colorado, a reservoir up 10 feet in three days
Farmington itself received only 0.75 to 1.5 inches of rain in the past 36 hours, the Tri-City Record reported — but to the north, the La Plata County area of Colorado received 2 to 5 inches. “That is where the water (in the rivers) is coming from,” said Matt De Maria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Navajo Dam, at La Boca, received 2.34 inches of rainfall, and the reservoir has gone up 10 feet since October 30. “It is forecast to go up another 10 feet,” De Maria said, adding that the rainfall itself “is all done” in this area — which means Monday's danger came not from new rain over Farmington but from the flood wave already moving down the three river systems.
A second disaster in under two weeks — on rivers still full of the last storm's sediment
Background: this is the second major flood to hit San Juan County in less than two weeks. The same three rivers flooded in late October, and Neeley pointed out that the county is now seeing “increased impacts to areas that were flooded in the last storm.” The rivers themselves have changed since then: “The river is not in its usual channel. It's full of sediment from the last storm. We don't know how the river will react,” Neeley told the Tri-City Record. “We are certainly not out of the woods.” Farmington, a city of about 46,000 near the Four Corners meeting point of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah, sits where the Animas and La Plata rivers join the San Juan — which is why a regional storm can push all three of its rivers into flood at the same time.
What happens next
The National Weather Service flood warning for the Animas River at Farmington runs until Wednesday morning, and forecasters expected the river to rise again after a brief fall on Monday afternoon. None of the three rivers had crested by Monday afternoon, and Neeley expected the highest flows within about 24 hours. Deliberate power outages will continue while crews work in the water, the Miller Street Bridge and the listed county roads remain closed until officials reopen them, and displaced residents can shelter at McGee Park. Residents across San Juan County — including in Aztec, Bloomfield, Kirtland and Shiprock, where schools were closed Monday — should follow San Juan County emergency management updates, stay out of flooded areas, and be ready for conditions to worsen before they improve.