Storm 2006: One Year Later

EL PASO, Tx. – For many residents on the borderland, recovery from Storm 2006 has been a slow, and sometimes frustrating process.

A lot of initiatives have helped people get on their feet again, but some residents have had to rely on their own resources and own willpower to clean up the mess from last year’s storms. People living on Mankato Road near Clint are used to fending for themselves.

Residents had to deal with their cars and trucks covered in mud one year ago. Many couldn’t even get to their homes because the mud was so deep. “It’s gut-wrenching.” said Deby Stowell, who, like many others here, is now taking precautions.

“I’m building a 5-foot wall around my property. We dug it out. It took us about 9 months and it’s back to where it should hold water, flow through water to go to the drains.” Joel Sullivan says all of his hay was ruined and his stalls filled with mud and debris. He tellsABC-7 hepaidnearly $5,000 dollars to clean up his property. And every time clouds like these roll into the area, it makes him and other residents cringe.

“Every time it clouds up and we look towards the interstate, we’re afraid that it’s going to become a big rain storm and going to flood again.” A handful of residents are suing the city of El Paso and the state of Texas for damage to their property. They say was it was caused when the city’s clint landfill overflowed. Mayor John Cook said that more than $200 million dollars are being spent on storm repair. Cook also said that many projects are already underway. One of them alone will cost about $9 million dollars. It will widen the drains and add new infrastructure near the Shadow Mountain area. In a prepared statement, Mayor Cook told ABC-7:

“We were put through a test last year. Our infrastructure failed us, but our reactions passed. I think we’re prepared for anything that comes to us this year. Hopefully it won’t be 28 days of rain. Noah only had one storm like that and that’s all I want.”