Flooding damage costs Doña Ana County family $35k

DONA ANA COUNTY, N.M. (KVIA) -- Flooding across Dona Ana County brought up to three feet of floodwater to the Brazito neighborhood . For some residents, the pooling covered their only way out of their properties.

Just north of Vado, one Brazito resident told ABC-7 the flood didn't just bring damage. It made her worried about her safety.

"If there's an emergency, we only have one way in, one way out, and that's the road we just came in on or what's left of a road, the lake we came in on," said Misty Skinner.

Skinner said she lived in Brazito for five years. While she's seen flooding, she never dealt with as much as she did after this week's rain.

"It has never been this way as far as we've lived here. We've lived here for five years now. And the last three rains is what really destroyed everything on our property," she said.

A nearby dam nearly breached, and arroyos sent water directly into her backyard.

Skinner said she loves her secluded property, but the cost of flooding is forcing her family to think about moving. With $35,000 of damaged equipment, she doesn't know if her family will ever recover.

"We love this property and we love having nothing. I mean, the freedom to be able to just be us. And it feels like everything that we wanted is gone," Skinner said.

Even after cleaning the damage from this week's flooding, there's a chance for more in the coming days.

ABC-7 reached out to Dona Ana County officials about what they're doing to help residents like Skinner.