N.M. Tornadoes Destroy Homes, Injure 16

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Storms that produced at least 13 tornadoes swept along New Mexico’s border with Texas on Friday, destroying homes and other buildings and injuring at least 16 people, several critically, authorities said.

The worst damage was reported in the towns of Logan and Clovis, which are about 80 miles apart, police said.

The tornadoes damaged several buildings, toppled power lines and sparked fires that were later extinguished in Clovis, police Lt. James Schoeffel said.

Thirteen people from the area were hospitalized at the Plains Regional Medical Center. Five were in critical condition with head trauma, said Liz Crouch, the center’s chief operating officer.

In Logan, three people were taken to a hospital, while others were treated at a local clinic, State Police Sgt. Andrew Tingwall said.

A tornado destroyed about two dozen mobile homes and campers in Logan, state police said.

“They have been coming one after another, after another, after another,” said Tim Shy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

Tornadoes are common in eastern New Mexico along the Texas border, but Shy said they might have hit a little early this year.

“We normally would get the first one no later than the middle of April – tax day,” he said.

The storms were expected to continue into Saturday, moving northward up the Texas-New Mexico border before moving eastward into the Texas panhandle, Shy said.

Downed power lines and debris forced authorities to shut down part of a highway near Clovis, said Roosevelt County Emergency Management official Lonnie Berry.

“There’s a lot of flooding; we have a lot of water,” he said. “There’s a lot of debris that scattered from the winds.”

In Logan, the most severe damage was reported on the south side, west of the main entrance to Ute Lake State Park, Tingwall said. Several homes and businesses also sustained “cosmetic damage,” he said.

Authorities initially cut off utility service to aid rescue crews and help with cleanup efforts, and power was restored shortly thereafter, Tingwall said.

Carrie Moritomo, a spokeswoman for the state’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said a crew will be sent to Logan on Saturday to assess the damage.