San Juan County flood victims seek help as Utah lieutenant governor tours damage

BLUFF, San Juan County — As Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson toured flood-damaged communities in San Juan County on Thursday, local leaders said the immediate need for assistance is growing, even as floodwaters from the San Juan River continue to recede.

Several homes and businesses in Bluff and within the Navajo Nation of San Juan County were flooded earlier this week when the San Juan River rose rapidly.

The amount of water brought evacuations in Bluff and nearby Navajo Nation communities, including Aneth and Montezuma Creek.

Although water levels have dropped, some families are still unable to return home, while others remain isolated because of washed-out roads.

"These communities have faced devastating home, property, and business losses. Their needs are significant, and we are all pulling together to help," the lieutenant governor said in a statement. "As a result of our visits today, state agencies have mobilized manpower, water pumps, and UDOT trucks to build a gravel road to access families stranded by the breach of the San Juan River."

Rebecca Benally, a community organizer within the Navajo Nation who has been helping affected families, said the recovery process will take time and resources.

"The immediate help is getting the families that were affected by the flood in their homes," said Benally.

She said some homes were flooded with several feet of water, while other families are struggling to get basic necessities because roads have been damaged.

"There are families that are stuck. They can't leave and they're running low on water and groceries and basic needs. It's devastating all the way around," said Benally. "It is tough. It's very emotional. It's friends, it's families, it's relatives that this is happening to."

Rural communities seek attention and resources

Bluff Mayor Josh Ewing said the flooding has highlighted the challenges of responding to emergencies in one of Utah's most remote regions.

"Down here, we're about as far away from Salt Lake as you can get and still be in the state of Utah," said Ewing. "We're proudly part of Utah, and certainly (the) most beautiful part of Utah, if I can say, but, you know, oftentimes we don't get the resources that some other communities get."

Ewing said Henderson's visit provides an opportunity for state leaders to see the damage firsthand and better understand what communities need to recover.

"We want to make sure that leaders up in Salt Lake and leaders in Washington see what the needs are down here," he said.

Those needs extend beyond the immediate cleanup.

"There are needs that are immediate in terms of financial resources in recovery, and then there are really some long-term needs in terms of infrastructure and resources for emergency management," said Ewing.

Benally said families in rural communities deserve the same level of assistance as those living in larger population centers.

"Well, everyone needs help at the same level, whether it's 2,000 people in New Mexico that need that help or the 16 families in Utah; they need the same level of help," she said. "It doesn't matter if it's rural or bigger towns; they need the same help."

Concerns about future flooding

Even as the San Juan River recedes, Ewing said another storm could create additional problems.

"In the immediate term, one of our big worries is, everything is saturated. There's a saying that it's not the first flood that gets you, it's the second one," said Ewing.

The mayor is also calling for improvements to river monitoring and emergency warning systems.

During the flooding, Ewing said, the community received warnings that a river gauge was not functioning properly, leaving local officials without reliable information about how quickly the water was rising.

"I appreciate the warning, but you know, we are in the 21st century, and we should probably have a warning system that is built for the extreme weather, the changing climate that we have, versus built for the 1970s river running on the river," he said.

With the monitoring equipment unreliable, Ewing said residents created their own system to measure the rising water.

"My dear friend Melissa was down in the water going, 'OK, we went an inch, and then we went two inches.' She was giving me a warning, and at the worst we were getting two feet of elevation coming up per hour," said Ewing.

Ewing said that's when he ordered the evacuation because he feared another hour of rising water could have flooded a much larger portion of Bluff and cut off an evacuation route.

He said fortunately, the water stopped rising and didn't cross the highway.

A need that goes beyond supplies

For Benally, the recovery effort is about more than repairing roads, cleaning homes and delivering supplies.

She said many families had little time to escape the rising water, leaving belongings behind.

"They knew it was happening, but it moved so fast that the only thing they could get was themselves out of the water way," she said.

While financial assistance, equipment and supplies are essential, Benally said there is another important way people can help.

"No. 1 would be presence," she said. "People need that moral support to know that people are there to support them."

The Town of Bluff has set up a *donation page for help.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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