PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico — Hurricane Polo smashed into the western coast of Mexico on Tuesday, swamping coastal areas and toppling trees before the storm’s remnants headed toward the U.S. Southwest, where heavy rains soaked the region and residents in small New Mexico towns were evacuated over concerns about a dam failing. Polo struck the Mexican state of Baja California Sur in the morning with maximum sustained winds of 110 m.p.h. (175 km/h). It crossed the Gulf of California and weakened to become a tropical storm as it moved inland to the northeast, and its remnants were expected to reach the U.S. by Tuesday night. North-central New Mexico, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe, could feel the brunt of the severe weather, with as much as three to four inches (about eight to 10 centimetres) of rain through Wednesday and possibly more, forecasters said. That is after storms rolled through parts of the U.S. Southwest overnight Monday, saturating the ground, which can make flooding worse. Southwest U.S. sees heavy rains, floods Bands of rain continued to sweep across the U.S. Southwest, causing desert rivers to surge and usually dry arroyos to rage with floodwater. The potential failure of the dam in south central New Mexico prompted evacuations in three small communities with hundreds of residents along the Rio Grande. People in Rincon, Salem and Garfield were told to seek higher ground immediately “before conditions worsen.” Nearly all of the region was under flood watches as the complex system of tropical weather -- with Polo the main event -- spread northeast from Mexico. “Definitely looking at the chances for urban flooding,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Carter Greulich in Albuquerque. “Don’t drive through flooded roadways. Remain out of the arroyos, especially in our urban areas.” A person stranded on top of a vehicle in floodwaters west of Phoenix was rescued Tuesday morning. Video taken by Arizona Fire and Medical Services showed a helicopter lowering a rescuer to a person clinging to their overturned car. And in Zion National Park, a helicopter was used to rescue three people who had been in Heaps Canyon and went to high ground when it began to flash flood. North of Phoenix, a truck was swept away in a wash in the New River area. The driver got out safely, Maricopa County sheriff’s officials said. The rocky, desert area typically gets less than 10 inches (25 centimetres) of rain annually with little vegetation to soak it up, making flash flooding a perpetual risk. Near Zion National Park in Utah, the East Fork of the Virgin River raged with chocolate floodwater seen carrying a shipping container downstream. In the small town of Orderville, Utah, where flooding began Monday night, Sabrina Dubay was driving home when her partner called and told her to stay away. “The river came in and swept around the entirety of our house,” Dubay said. A camper, snowmobile trailer, and other items from Dubay’s yard were swept away by the river. Neighbours and friends arrived to dig a trench around the house as the water rose around their home. “It was coming in through our front doors,” she said. Flooding also was reported in southern New Mexico. An unusually soggy September across the region set the stage: When the ground is saturated, rainfall has nowhere to go but run off. “Runoff is likely going to start much quicker and lead to those flooding impacts quicker,” Greulich said. Forecasters said the flood risk would move into parts of the central U.S. beginning late Tuesday and into Wednesday. Starting late Wednesday, widespread heavy rain was expected to hit the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio areas. Life-threatening flash flooding was possible, with low-lying areas especially vulnerable. Parts of west Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa were under flood watch through Thursday, with some areas expecting up to five inches (13 centimetres) of rain. `We were lucky’ Hurricane Polo pummeled Baja California Sur with powerful winds and rain as it made landfall. After Polo passed over the small fishing town of Puerto San Carlos on the Baja California peninsula, residents waded among downed trees through ankle-high water that flooded some homes. Seeing their roughened community largely intact brought relief to those who had prepared for the worst. Shopkeeper Elbia Maria Bachomo, 40, picked through furniture strewn through her home. She and her three children had gathered their clothes quickly and left for a shelter Monday as water began flooding into their home. Her husband was out on the water fishing for sardines when Polo hit. Bachomo said he was fortunate to escape alive. “I thought, `Oh no, what are we going to come back to? We will be left with nothing.’ But we were lucky,” she said. Polo was expected to produce six to 12 inches (about 15 to 30 centimetres) of rain across parts of Baja California Sur. About 700 people remained in shelters Tuesday. But they were expected to return to their homes, and no serious damage or deaths were immediately reported, according to authorities. Meanwhile, the hurricane center reported Tropical Storm Rachel was moving parallel to Mexico’s coast early Tuesday. The storm was about 265 miles (425 kilometres) southwest of Lazaro Cardenos with maximum sustained winds of 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h). It was moving west-northwest at 13 m.p.h. (20 km/h). In the central Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Nolo remained a dangerous Category 3 hurricane on Tuesday as it edged away from Hawaii after drenching parts of the Big Island over the weekend. The hurricane was approaching Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a marine conservation area. Pacific storm activity has been above average this year. That’s consistent with El Nino years. ___ By Martín Silva Rey and Megan Janetsky Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Photojournalist Eduardo Verdugo contributed from Puerto San Carlos, Mexico, reporter Julie Walker reported from New York, reporter Mead Gruver reported from Fort Collins, Colorado. Videojournalist Eugene Garcia and photographer Gregory Bull contributed from Hilo, Hawaii.
