Skip to the story
All StoriesPoliticsConflict & SecurityBusiness & EconomyScience & TechHealthClimateMedia
All stories
Science & Tech26 outlets ran this3 min read

Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains

Colorado town braces for historic river crest as Arizona residents flee rising waters.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains

What this story says

  • Heavy rains are causing flash flooding across the Southwestern United States.
  • Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Arizona and Colorado.
  • The San Juan River in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, is forecast to crest at over 19 feet, potentially exceeding levels seen in a 1911 flood.
  • Up to 4 inches of rain are estimated to fall across the region, with flood watches issued for multiple states.

Who covered it

Left 54%(13)Centre 29%(7)Right 17%(4)

Percentages are shares of the 24 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 26 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

86/100

Craft

95/100

Hype

12/100

26 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 4 of the 24 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Heavy rainfall has led to flash flooding and mandatory evacuations across a wide area of the Southwest. In Pagosa Springs, Colorado, officials warned of potentially catastrophic flooding as the San Juan River was forecast to crest at more than 19 feet (5.8 meters) around 11:00 p.m. Sunday. This level is higher than the approximately 17.8 feet (5.4 meters) recorded during a devastating flood in 1911 that significantly impacted the town. In Sedona, Arizona, residents near Oak Creek were ordered to evacuate immediately due to rapidly rising floodwaters, with multiple people reported trapped in their homes. Similar evacuation orders were issued in Camp Verde, Arizona, for areas near the Verde River and nearby creeks.

The National Weather Service estimated that up to 4 inches (10 cm) of rain could fall across the region, fueled by a series of Pacific storm systems. Flood watches were issued for nearly all of Arizona, and parts of southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, western New Mexico, and southern Nevada. Meteorologists noted that the region is receiving two to three months' worth of rain in a matter of days. Emergency crews from surrounding communities were mobilized to assist in Sedona, where fire officials shared videos of floodwaters inundating vehicles and structures.

Disagreement on El Niño's role

Regional Media News reported that a stormy El Niño pattern is drenching the Southwest with rain. None of the other 25 reports mention El Niño in relation to the current weather events.

What the coverage left out

None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports below mention the specific date of the heavy rainfall, stating only that it began Saturday evening and was expected to continue through Monday. The full reports from My Mother Lode and ABC News, however, do provide this detail.

Tags:#SouthwestFlooding#FlashFloods#Evacuations#Arizona#Colorado#WeatherAlerts

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 1 Nov 2026, 23:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains
abc NewsLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

13 rated outlets

  • Left-rated reports led with the flash flooding and mandatory evacuations in Arizona and Colorado. They highlighted the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, being forecast to crest at more than 19 feet and warned of potentially catastrophic flooding. These reports also detailed the immediate evacuation orders in Sedona, Arizona, due to rapidly rising waters and people trapped in their homes. The amount of rainfall, estimated at up to 4 inches, and the issuance of flood watches across multiple states were also prominent. The Archuleta County Sheriff's Office warning about the 1911 flood's crest of 17.8 feet was included to contextualise the current forecast.

Centre

7 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports focused on the flash flooding and mandatory evacuations in the Southwest, specifically mentioning Sedona, Arizona, and Pagosa Springs, Colorado. They noted the San Juan River's forecast crest of over 19 feet and the potential for catastrophic flooding. The immediate evacuation orders in Sedona due to rising waters and trapped residents were also a key point. These reports included the National Weather Service estimate of up to 4 inches of rain and the flood watches issued for several states. Some centre-rated reports mentioned that heavy rains had already brought deadly flooding to the region this fall.

Right

4 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports highlighted the flash flooding and mandatory evacuations in Arizona and Colorado. They mentioned the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs being forecast to crest at more than 19 feet. These reports also noted the heavy rains in the normally arid region. One right-rated digest mentioned an El Niño pattern as the cause of the rainfall.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains?
Of the 24 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 54% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 26. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 24 rated outlets on this story, 54% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 17% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains biased?
Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains is one event reported by 26 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Southwest US Floods: Evacuations Ordered Amid Heavy Rains?
26 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the forecast for the San Juan River?
The San Juan River in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, was forecast to crest at more than 19 feet (5.8 meters) around 11:00 p.m. Sunday. This level is higher than the approximately 17.8 feet (5.4 meters) recorded during a devastating flood in 1911.
What areas have evacuation orders?
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for residents in areas near Oak Creek in Sedona, Arizona, and for residents living near the Verde River and nearby creeks in Camp Verde, Arizona. Officials in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, also warned of potential catastrophic flooding.
How much rain is expected?
The National Weather Service estimated that up to 4 inches (10 cm) of rain could fall across the region. This rainfall is occurring in an area that is normally arid, with some meteorologists noting it is equivalent to two to three months' worth of rain in a few days.
Which states are under flood watches?
Flood watches have been issued for nearly all of Arizona, and parts of southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, western New Mexico, and southern Nevada. This includes the Four Corners region where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet.

Read it at the source

26 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

13
Show 5 more

Centre

7

Right

4

Not rated

2

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

More in Science & Tech

All Science & Tech →
The project is part of larger cross-country efforts involving universities, conservation organizations and government agencies to save three endangered species of butterflies that also include the mottled duskywing and curiously isolated hairstreak, the University of Guelph said in a statement. (University of Guelph)3 min readScientists aim to reintroduce extirpated frosted elfin butterfly to OntarioRead storyPope Leo XIV Calls for Global AI Ethics Institutions2 min readPope Leo XIV Calls for Global AI Ethics InstitutionsRead storyA NASA image of Teghaza 001. Darryl Pitt / Maine Mineral & Gem Museum2 min read4.1-billion-year-old Mars meteorite found in MaliRead story

Elsewhere on the site

Native American Culture Celebrated in November Heritage MonthMedia•4 min readNative American Culture Celebrated in November Heritage MonthTrump to hold closing campaign pitch at Reflecting PoolPolitics•3 min readTrump to hold closing campaign pitch at Reflecting PoolUS News Outlets Detail Midterm Election Race Call MethodsPolitics•3 min readUS News Outlets Detail Midterm Election Race Call MethodsPresident Trump lays out his strategy for dealing with a potential Democratic-controlled Congress in an interview with Miranda Devine. New York PostPolitics•3 min readTrump says he would become 'Mr. Veto' if Democrats win Congress
Southwest US Floods | MediaBias News