Tornillo Cleans Up After The Storm
As borderland residents prepare for thunderstorms, some residents in far east El Paso county are cleaning up after severe weather earlier this week.
“Didn’t sleep last night,” says Eladio Bosquez. Not many in the neighborhood along Railroad Avenue have for several nights.
Hail and rain inundated streets and homes in Tornillo Wednesday afternoon. As flood water rushed in, dozens of residents sought cover and higher ground.
“We took everything apart. The walls are still soaking wet. We have all our windows open, the fans on.” Like Leticia Aguirre, many residents are left with a muddy mess.
Bosquez explains, “We removed all the carpet from the living room.”
Just next door, Carmen Martinez has her belongings piled on tables. Her carpet is still soaked.
Frustration continues in the neighborhood as people blame the drains for the flooding. “The tunnels are not even 12 inches by 12 inches. It was just too much water and they had never cleaned them, let’s say 3, 4, 5 months,” claims Aguirre.
County officials assure ABC-7 the flooding was not caused by clogged drains. They say that’s because they had crews out here cleaning them just last week.
Many residents in this community have lived here their whole lives and moving out is not an option. “Where?” asks Bosquez. “This is the only house I have, this is my only property.”
Residents just want help from the county. Aguirre exclaims, “Tornillo exists, don’t just stop at Fabens! We have a lot of people here and we need their help.”
Precinct 3 Commissioner Willie Gandara says the county is working on projects, such as building reservoirs to help with the flooding. However, it could take time to get the money needed for those projects.
