Residents gather together for recovery efforts after West El Paso floods impact 16 homes

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Floodwaters swept through a West El Paso neighborhood Saturday evening, leaving streets covered in debris and forcing residents to begin extensive cleanup efforts.

The flooding left mud and rocks scattered across local properties, with floodwaters reaching waist height as residents attempted to clear a drain in the neighborhood.

In response to the aftermath, neighbors came together to assist one another with clearing debris, sharing food and providing temporary shelter.

Luis Chaparro, a resident living in the impacted neighborhood, described the severe disruption to what would normally be a restful weekend.

“It should be a normal daily routine, a daily Sunday. But this just heartbreaking to see your street just covered like this, that you can't even go out or can't even enter. And instead of enjoying a good Sunday, you're out here.” Chaparro said.

Jaylene Placencia, a resident, was working a nursing shift in nearby Las Cruces when she received word that her family had to be evacuated from their property. Placencia expressed her emotions to ABC-7 upon witnessing the flooding conditions, uncertain if she would have a home to return to.

“We built our house. We've lived here for three years. We saw it go from the ground up,” Placencia said.

While Placencia noted that her home appears to have sustained less damage than some neighboring houses, the entire block faces extensive recovery work.

To aid in the neighborhood recovery efforts, Placencia asked the surrounding community for donations of essential household items.

“If anybody can come donate any cleaning supplies, mops, rags, Pine-Sol, anything you can bring Clorox. It'll be a great help,” Placencia said.