A storm that pounded the Southwest on Sunday has triggered evacuation orders and raised the threat of flash flooding across Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, according to a report released by the Saudi Press Agency on November 2. The agency said the heavy rain fell on ground that remains saturated from the region’s recent devastating floods.
Evacuation Orders and Flash Flood Warnings
Authorities in the four states issued evacuation orders in several counties in response to the swaths of rainfall, which the Weather Prediction Center expects to continue through Monday. The greatest risk, the agency noted, lies in parts of Arizona, southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, and western New Mexico. The intense precipitation has the potential to produce rapid runoff, especially in steep terrain, narrow canyons, and stream channels, and in areas that burned in previous wildfires.
Residents in several communities had to leave their homes and relocate to emergency shelters after the storm’s rains stalled in compacted soils and distorted the natural flow of water. The agency’s report highlighted that communities that already struggled to recover from the floods of earlier in the year are particularly vulnerable. In addition, the wet, burn‑scarred surfaces in these regions lack the vegetation that normally helps to absorb water, making runoff even more dangerous.
Local meteorologists cited the dryness of the soil—a factor made worse by the recent floods—yet explained that the current storm is strong enough that the areas can’t absorb the rain quickly. According to the Weather Prediction Center, water can run from the highlands into low‑lying basins in only minutes, putting residents in dangerous conditions of flash flooding. The agency said the threat must be taken seriously until Saturday night and potentially a day longer.
Along with new evacuation orders, local emergency management agencies warned residents to avoid low‑lying roads and streams and to stay away from the narrow canyon corridors that are most prone to sudden increases in water depth. In some towns, emergency crews had already begun to prepare evacuation routes, assist people in moving out, and set up temporary shelters in schools or community centers that were deemed safe for the short term.
Sundays’ storm was described by the Saudi Press Agency as a “powerful storm” that unleashed heavy rainfall across the region, corresponding with the Weather Prediction Center’s assessment that the wet ground and saturated soils can give rise to flash floods, especially in steep terrain, narrow canyons and stream channels, and past wildfire‑affected areas. The agency's coverage indicated that the threat will continue through Monday at a minimum, and urged residents in the affected states to keep up to date with local alerts and follow instructions from emergency officials.
