Emergency crews conduct more than a dozen water rescues following heavy rains, floods

Flooding was so bad in one East El Paso neighborhood, firefighters had to rescue two women from a car, one of 13 on Thursday.

Rescue crews were called to the corner of Dick Mayers and Victor Lopez drives after rain had been falling for hours about a mile from Zaragoza Road and Vista Del Sol Drive.

Several people who witnessed the water rescue told ABC-7 the women were trapped in the car as water more than a couple feet deep began pouring into the automobile, leaving them stranded inside. The water was about waist-high, and the women apparently tried to drive down Dick Mayers, even after seeing how deep the water was, resulting in their rescue by the fire department.

The rescue was one of 13 water rescues from vehicles today, the fire department said in a news release. The El Paso Police department said it received 55 accident calls: 32 traffic-related; 12 water assistance calls; and six fire rescue calls.

Residents in the East El Paso neighborhood said the water receded rather quickly, and although it was over the curbs and sidewalks at one point, never went into their homes, which are elevated a few feet above street level.

Brenda Acosta saw the water rescue happen and described how bad the flooding was earlier today.
“There’s a truck over there, and even the water got right where the bumper is,” she said. “it was really bad, it got really, really bad.”

When asked if the water got in the houses, Acosta said, “No, thank God it didn’t since the houses are built on an incline. So, the water didn’t get into the houses but it did get pretty high, like the cars couldn’t pass through here, so it was really dangerous.”