Storm caused drains to overflow, flooding Lower Valley homes

EL PASO, Texas -- Destruction and debris have been scattered across El Paso since monsoon season began, but it’s not just streets that are seeing damage, houses are also feeling the impact of the storms.

One home in the Lower Valley was flooded by the torrential rain, consumed with 1 to 2 inches of water.

A lot of this water came from the extreme flooding at the intersection of McRae and Giles that rushed down the hill to Mary Torres’ home.

"Every monsoon season when the clouds roll in it's that anxiety of is it going to flood this time,” her niece, Esmeralda Araujo, told ABC-7 on Tuesday.

The rain over the weekend seeped through the front door despite sandbags and tarps blocking the entry, it also leaked through the sides of the house.

"I feel helpless right now because I don't live around the corner where I can just come and help,” Araujo said. “It went from a sprinkle to torrential rain, and she does not have the ability to lift those sandbags quickly to protect herself and her home.”

In previous floods, water completely damaged furniture and even knocked over a fence.

El Paso Water put in a drain years ago in an attempt to stop the flooding, but Araujo said "the water goes right over that drain and destroys everything in its path."

El Paso Water, in a statement provided to ABC-7, said that "the existing street inlets on Adobe Drive were built to handle a certain capacity of storm water, and the rain that fell in the area on July 18 far exceeded the capacity."

The statement continued: “EPWater has already identified the area for improvements, and construction of a project will begin in a couple of months along Carolina Drive. The work consists of enhancing a storm water line underground to help carry storm water to a nearby drain.”

But Torres and Araujo are worried about more storms likely to hit the Borderland before work on that project takes place.

"It's very nerve wracking to think that there's more rain on it's way,” Araujo said.