Receding floodwaters leave a sea of mud and shattered homes in the US Southwest

Skies began to clear Tuesday, but while floodwaters from almost two weeks of on-and-off heavy rain still inundated parts of the U.S. Southwest, other areas left mud-caked by receding torrents presented homeowners and businessowners with the filthy work of cleanup.Jack Ellis, a retired schoolteacher, surveyed damage along the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, which has suffered through multiple rounds of severe flooding in recent weeks.This is quite a disaster for everybody, especially in the low-lying areas, Ellis said. We dig in and dig out, and thats what its going to take."IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Rescuers saved some 80 people in Grand Canyon floods that left 2 dead and 1 missing, officials sayIn all, more than 20 trillion gallons (76 trillion liters) of rain 10 months of the flow over Niagara Falls have fallen on the Four Corners states and Nevada in the past two weeks, according to former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue.After ra