State of Utah agencies respond to southern Utah flooding
October 30, 2026
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Incidents
State Emergency Operations Center activation is elevated to Level 3: Enhanced Support
Information as of 8 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2026
Flood waters cover the land near Shiprock, New Mexico. The Shiprock Bridge can be seen in the background.
Monsoonal rains have continued to plague Utah throughout October, leading to emergency flooding incidents in southeastern and southwestern Utah.
Flooding around Bluff, Utah, has displaced 7 families and 4 businesses. Elsewhere in San Juan County, flood waters from the San Juan River overran sewage treatment lagoons, causing raw sewage to enter flooded areas. The San Juan County Public Health Department has issued a warning for people to stay out of the San Juan River until further notice and to not let people or animals drink from the river.
The Navajo Nation has published a Monsoon 2026 information webpage with safety information and advisories.
The State of Utah always stands ready and able to assist local responders during emergency situations. Below is a summary of actions state agencies have taken this week:
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson visited Bluff and Hurricane on 10/29/2026 with leaders from various state agencies. During her visit, she received requests for state agencies to mobilize manpower, water pumps, and UDOT trucks to build a gravel road to access families stranded by the breach of the San Juan River.
DEM has maintained constant communication with San Juan County Emergency Management. San Juan County is currently able to fulfill all of its requests locally and will coordinate future requests as needed with DEM.
Public information officers across state government are ready and able to support public messaging and have shared important public health messages from San Juan Public Health, as well as public safety messages from Navajo Nation.
DEM recovery staff will participate in a disaster recovery meeting on Friday, Nov. 6 with San Juan County.
Utah Department of Transportation has offered to support the Navajo Nation in various road repairs.
Utah Department of Environmental Quality is supporting San Juan County Public Health with messaging related to water quality issues and the E. coli discovered in the San Juan River. See the DEQ video below and their Facebook post here.
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