Storm Legacy: How Storm 2006 transformed the Borderland forever

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Twenty years ago this summer, the Borderland experienced one of the worst natural disasters in its history. Storm 2006 was characterized by a persistent torrential downpour over several days, resulting in severe flooding.

The series of thunderstorms brought a record amount of rainfall during the monsoon season during the week of July 27 to August 4. According to the National Weather Service, from July to September 2006, 15 inches of rain were measured in El Paso.

Residents had to evacuate while hundreds of homes were destroyed.

According to El Paso Water, Storm 2006 caused a combined $315 million in damage across the city. In 2008, the city would establish a stormwater utility, giving El Paso Water broad authority over the city’s stormwater system. The master plan also included planning and capital improvements, maintenance and operations.

El Paso Water said invested more than $400 million in stormwater infrastructure since 2008.

‘Doppler’ Dave Speelman was already ABC-7’s chief meteorologist at the time. He remembered how the newscasts were filled with continuous weather reports. Speelman recalled back-to-back coverage and informing the community about the moving storm.

“I think we might have went 10, 12 hours straight covering that. And it was just one of those that you probably never, ever do again,” he said.

Speelman said Storm 2006 taught people about the dangers of weather events. He remembered coming into work that week already knowing what lay ahead after tracking the storms days beforehand.

“I remember going in and thinking, 'This is a huge story, and everybody's going to be watching it.' And so we better perform. I mean, we better give them the details. What they need and also try to kind of calm them down a little bit. We didn't want to scare them,” he said.

As images poured in, Speelman caught a glimpse of the devastation.

“I just remember the water rushing down Shadow Mountain, and then those dumpsters just floating down, and then people in their boats," he said. "Just looking at all the devastation, all the the damage in people's homes. They didn't have insurance. It was just heartbreaking to see the hurt."

Speelman remembered water kept hitting a West El Paso Blockbuster store and destroyed it.

"The people that live in this community, they described the water just rushing down like a rapids. And that's just what stuck out in my mind in the big commercial containers," Speelman said. "I mean, here's El Paso. We typically don't see it. You know, we're one of the driest in the country.”

That summer, former ABC-7 reporter Darren Hunt witnessed the wrath of Mother Nature during his first year of news reporting. He went to various areas across El Paso to report on the devastation.

“Unbelievable how fast it was coming in; it was just filling things up," Hunt said. "The city just couldn't take any more water. It looked like the Colorado River. The water was three to four feet high, rushing into rapids right into this neighborhood."

Hunt remembered the water being waist-deep as residents near the once-Saipan neighborhood tried to salvage their belongings while evacuating. As a native El Pasoan, Hunt said it was difficult seeing what many were going through.

“Their homes were being inundated with water at the time," he said.

Hunt watched as residents tried to salvage their belongings from their homes.

He said in the weeks after the storm, he shared the stories of those who lost their homes, marking a difficult chapter in the lives of many in El Paso.

"You find yourself comforting people and trying to help people," Hunt said.

Good Morning El Paso's Hillary Floren was also one of the faces in ABC-7's Storm 2006 coverage.

“People just being devastated and families without a home anymore. That was, it was really heart-wrenching to see, and seeing people who had to stay in a shelter or somewhere else to stay. The scene, seeing the aftermath, I think it was really heartbreaking,” Floren said.

Floren said residents turned to local television stations for their source of accurate and reliable information.

“We had so much information to keep giving out, and it was just incredible. The teamwork and the effort of the crews out in the field and everyone in the newsroom answering calls. And it was just a huge team effort,” Floren said.

Watch ABC-7's Rosemary Garcia's special report, "Storm Legacy" Thursday on ABC-7 at 6.