Doa Ana County residents clean up after stormwater rushes homes
A group of homes near Shalem Colony Trail and Rocky Acres Trail in Doa Ana County was devastated during Monday night’s storms.
Strangers, including a group of about 20 volunteers from the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, were in Max Schroeder’s home helping his family salvage and clean up as much as they could.
“I think 75 percent of my belongings are gone. Some of the stuff that was up above the water line, clothes, stuff that was up on counter tops, that was fine,” Schroeder said.
The family couldn’t be more grateful for the help, as they try to assess the damage before starting to rebuild. Their home wasn’t the only one damaged, but it was one of the most severe.
“Couches, beds, tables, chairs, lot of clothes that were in dressers, all the kids’ toys, stuffed animals, all the stuff from them growing up, gone,” Schroeder said.
“It’s devastating because I have my own young kids about their age and when you walk in their rooms and see all their personal belongings, important photos and class books and whatever that they have that are important to them are hard to replace, and your heart just kind of breaks,” volunteer Jay Robb said.
As for who’s responsible … a Doa Ana County spokeswoman said that’s what flood commission engineers are trying to figure out. They found a dam in the area that was built in the 1930s on both private and federal lands. She said the dam didn’t fail, it overflowed.
As for the house next door to the Schroeders’, the Casanovas weren’t home at the time the water rushed in. The family salvaged all the furniture they could, but they had to tear up their wooden floors.
People believe recovery will take months.
“We’re going to try to salvage what we can and then figure out what happened,” Schroeder said. He and his family have lived in the area 11 years and have never seen anything like it.
Elephant Butte Irrigation District Manager Gary Esslinger said his crews helped pump flood waters into their nearby canal Monday night, but they don’t manage flood control in this area. Esslinger believes the dyke behind the houses was put up by the property owners themselves, and recommended residents contact their county commissioner, Leticia Duarte-Benavidez.