She estimated that the costs of debris removal, road and bridge repair and other “longhaul” recovery could amount to as much as $300 million.
“I don’t care if it’s a billion dollars. The goal here is to identify every state, every federal, every local resource and get it where it belongs,” Lujan Grisham said.
At least two deaths were reported in New Mexico. Isabelle Beulaygue, 39, was swept away while attempting to cross a flooded arroyo in a vehicle Saturday in Santa Fe, authorities said.
About 50 miles (80 kilometers) south in Socorro County, 64-year-old Grace Clark was swept away as floodwaters rose and trapped residents in their homes. Valencia County Fire Chief Matthew Propp said nine other people were rescued as teams worked overnight to find residents.
Between 200 and 300 people in San Juan County, New Mexico, were rescued in the last few days, according to county spokesperson Devin Neeley.
Damage spread onto the vast Navajo Nation spanning parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Lupita Villa, her husband and three young children evacuated their rental home along the San Juan River in Farmington on Thursday. When they returned on Saturday, they needed muck boots and waders to reach the front door. Once inside, they found their laminate floors warped under several inches of muddy floodwater and much of their furniture destroyed.
The family is staying with relatives on higher ground while they plan next steps. Villa said her children are struggling to understand that their former home is now unlivable.
“They just keep asking, ‘When can we go back?’” Villa said.
Colorado residents still cut off by washed-out roads
The crisis continued in southern Colorado’s Archuleta County. After more rain brought another surge in San Juan River flooding through the hot springs resort town of Pagosa Springs last weekend, the river was back below flood stage Monday for the first time in more than three days.
No further rescues were reported after air operations that included the rescue of two people, three dogs and two cats from a recreational vehicle washed downstream in floodwaters Friday.
But all evacuated areas remained closed. Responders were landing in helicopters to check on people still unable to leave their homes due to the floodwaters and road damage.
“We do have a number of people cut off still but we’re accessing those with the National Guard and our search and rescue crews,” Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux said.
Utah town surveys desert that now looks like a sea
Officials throughout the region cautioned people to avoid entering floodwaters after wastewater treatment plants got flooded. If you are exposed, they said, take a shower or bath as soon as possible.
In Montezuma Creek, 14 miles (22 kilometers) downstream from Bluff, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority reported its wastewater treatment lagoons were “completely breached,” potentially contaminating the San Juan River with bacteria and pathogens.
The river crested Monday lower than expected in Bluff. The water stopped mostly short of a highway that runs through town, said Ewing, the mayor and a local firefighter who took part in flood rescues.
It was cold comfort, though, after floodwaters hit seven more homes and four businesses overnight to bring the local flood toll to 17 homes and five businesses since a surge on Friday.
Unlike flooding that followed a levee break Friday, Ewing said, the latest surge happened after a day of warnings that higher water was on the way.
“It’s kind a weird thing when you’ve lived in red rock country to feel like you live by the sea now. Our flood plain is just filled,” Ewing said.