A rain-soaked swath of the Southwest U.S. braced Sunday for another round of potentially heavy showers and thunderstorms after days of rain forced evacuations and water rescues . The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of the Four Corners — the meeting point of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah — even as local officials forecast further receding of swollen rivers that surged since rains picked up Wednesday. About 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water flooded the home of San Juan County, New Mexico, Sheriff Shane Ferrari.
He said the area's situation was stable Sunday, but he and other residents were trying to clean up and deal with damage. San Juan County spokesperson Devin Neeley said the county did not have official numbers on damage to homes or the number of people evacuated, but he was not aware of any loss of life. Popular Reads Britt McHenry resigns from State Department after basketball game altercation 2 days ago Minnesota man credited with saving kids, school bus driver surprised with check 2 days ago 2 dead, 11 injured after Kansas mother drives onto soccer field during game: Police Oct 18 Neeley said the floodwaters were receding but left mud and silt, much of which has been contaminated with sewage because of failures at waste plants.
There were still power outages affecting multiple areas, and it would likely be a few days until residents got their power back on. “It’s a pretty active disaster zone,” he said. “We’re not on the downswing by any means.” The flooding is just the latest from two months of on-and-off heavy rain caused by tropical moisture coming ashore from the Pacific. After months of drought, other recent deadly flooding struck the Grand Canyon and areas of New Mexico.
The Associated Press reports days of heavy rain, evacuations, water rescues and sewage-contaminated floodwater in the Four Corners region, and explains the rain only as tropical moisture from the Pacific. It never tells the reader that warming makes heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more severe. The reporting on the damage itself is careful and well sourced.
Leaves out the climate link
Serious
“two months of on-and-off heavy rain caused by tropical moisture coming ashore from the Pacific”
Why this matters
The words "caused by tropical moisture coming ashore from the Pacific" give the article's only explanation for two months of heavy rain. They put the cause down to weather alone.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking this run of flooding rain is a purely natural weather pattern, with nothing to do with a warming climate.
The context
Human-caused warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more intense. The article never mentions climate change or warming anywhere, even as it describes rains that swelled rivers, forced evacuations and water rescues, and follows recent deadly flooding at the Grand Canyon and in New Mexico.
How we know
On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
On the recordIt is unequivocal that human influence, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels, has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “climate” and “warming”.
Elsewhere in the article“after days of rain forced evacuations and water rescues”
The flooding is the latest from two months of on-and-off heavy rain caused by tropical moisture coming ashore from the Pacific. Climate change is making heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more intense.