Doña Ana County declares Vado flood a disaster

LAS CRUCES — Doña Ana County commissioners declared Tuesday night's 100-year flood event in Vado a disaster during an emergency session Thursday.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham responded Friday by signing an emergency order unlocking $750,000 in state funds for agencies assisting in the response.

A large storm dumped over 2 inches of rain rapidly over the upper watershed Tuesday evening, delivering overwhelming volumes of water into the Rio Grande's passage through the unincorporated rural community 18 miles south of Las Cruces.

The river breached the embankment and poured into neighborhoods and farms, washing away vehicles and damaging hundreds of homes, the county reported, with $3 million in damage done to the arroyo.

Water continued to pour from the higher elevations into ponds and a drainage system relying heavily on the county's wastewater system, which has been moving 1.5 million gallons of water daily compared to a daily average of 400,000 gallons.

County officials confirmed that the standing water in which residents and animals continued to move about is contaminated with human and animal waste and urged residents to avoid exposure if they could.

Recovery efforts continued Thursday with the opening of a disaster resource center at Vado's community center, providing mental health counseling, pastoral care, wellness checks and other services.

The county also established a call center through which residents can obtain answers to questions or referrals to resources by dialing 211. An online portal to aid in assessing property damage was also publicized on the county's social media channels.

Individual disaster grants provided

Assistant County Manager Stephen Lopez presented commissioners with an emergency declaration that included individual assistance for residents whose housing was temporarily or permanently lost in the flooding — a move the county said is unprecedented in New Mexico.

The disaster housing program directs $500,000 from a hospital lease fund to provide assistance to homeowners and renters who are normally able to support themselves and dependents but cannot afford emergency housing expenses. The fund was established under the terms of Memorial Medical Center's lease of public land for its hospital campus.

Under the new disaster program, homeowners whose residences were permanently lost in the Vado flood may qualify for $9,000 per household; renters with long-term loss of their rental property may receive $3,000 per household; and both homeowners and renters who lose their primary residence temporarily may receive grants of $1,500.

Lopez emphasized that the county would not be requesting any information on immigration status from applicants.

The declaration asks Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to declare a state of emergency and provide state resources, authorizes emergency procurement to assist in local recovery and waives construction permit fees that are part of repair and recovery efforts. The declaration also allows county road crews to provide assistance in making private roads in the community passable.

Initial reports from the county that over 600 homes were impacted included those that had simply lost power, County Emergency Manager Amanda Bowen told commissioners. She said El Paso Electric had restored power to all households and that up to 300 homes had been damaged, but an estimate of how many were permanently lost was not yet available.

FEMA recovery teams, authorized under previous disaster declarations in New Mexico, were expected to arrive next week to begin their own preliminary assessments of the damage.

Meanwhile, with much of Vado and adjacent communities still under standing water, county teams were taking measures Thursday to head off mosquito surges, move trash receptacles into neighborhoods and prepare teams to assist with clearing mud and muck over the weekend.

However, more rainfall is expected over the weekend and next week, which could complicate recovery efforts. As things stand, much of the sediment left by Tuesday's flood can't be removed until conditions are dry and heavy equipment can be used.

Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, stopping in Las Cruces en route to flood sites in Ruidoso, commended the commissioners and staff for their rapid response and expressed his support for the emergency declaration.

"The additional language they had in there to provide some assistance from their own funds, I think, sets a precedent that I believe other communities are going to look at as well," he told the Journal.

Recalling catastrophic flooding in the county in 2021, Morales continued, "In the La Union floods, we saw families where it took years to get them in a home after losing everything in that flood. So the local support is absolutely necessary, and fortunately Doña Ana County has the resources to do it."

Claudia Durham, a Vado resident since 2006, addressed commissioners ahead of their vote, saying new rainstorms, approaching as drainage structures were still overwhelmed with water and debris, worried her community.

"Our concern is that with the oncoming rains, it's still standing there, it's not flowing — what's going to happen?"