ROSWELL, N.M. — City workers reported for duty Monday following historic weekend rain that was blamed for two deaths and hundreds of rescues.
The workers cleaned up debris blocking roadways and conducted damage assessments of city buildings, streets and water lines, the Roswell municipal government said in a statement.
The city's water system was left unscathed after the region was battered Saturday and early Sunday by thunderstorms moving east-northeast that poured rain and threatened to bring large hail and destructive winds to the area.
Flooding, however, appeared to do the most damage, with motorists finding themselves trapped in the rapid rising floodwaters as New Mexico National Guard troops rescued dozens of people and the Guard's Community Emergency Response Team conducted at least one swift water rope rescue, according to a statement.
Some residents realized their homes had been flooded when they awoke Sunday morning and took their first step of the day into an incursion of floodwater, they said in interviews Monday.
New Mexico National Guard officials said 309 people had been rescued since Saturday, with 38 of those taken to hospitals for treatment of undisclosed injuries.
New Mexico State Police said two people died as a result of the flash flood, but information on the victims or the circumstances of their deaths wasn’t immediately released.
On Monday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an emergency declaration for Chaves County, which underlies Roswell, making available $1 million in state funds to help its citizens recover.
She visited Roswell on Monday. "I’m grateful for the swift actions taken by local authorities and our state departments to help communities in need," the governor said in a statement.
Roswell city officials said water levels had receded in many parts of the city but remained high in the downtown area late Sunday. All roads leading to and from the city were closed Sunday, some through early Monday, authorities said.
The National Weather Service in Albuquerque said 5.78 inches of rain fell on Roswell on Saturday, breaking the previous daily record of 5.65 inches set on Nov. 1, 1901, for the southeastern New Mexico city.
As several homes and businesses began to flood Saturday night, authorities said seven people were rescued after a car was swept away in floodwaters. Other vehicles were swept away into a river channel.
Albuquerque TV station KOAT reported that Chaves County Sheriff Mike Herrington was seen standing on top of his vehicle surrounded by floodwaters. Herrington said he had to go to the roof of his vehicle when it and several other vehicles became stranded in water that rose up to the windows.
Undersheriff Charles Yslas went to historic South Park Cemetery on Monday to dispel online rumors that the floodwaters had uprooted gravesites and carried away tombstones. None of it true, he said in a video.
"Contrary to rumors ... there is nothing floating," he said.
Nearby roads remained difficult to navigate, Yslas said, as crews continued to clean up debris blocking lanes, so the cemetery would remain closed until those paths have been cleared.
Authorities set up a shelter at the Eastern New Mexico state fairgrounds for Roswell residents displaced by the flooding.
“We’ve worked all night and continue to work with swift water rescue teams and other partner agencies to help our fellow citizens get to safety,” Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar, the New Mexico National Guard’s adjutant general, said in a statement.
Guard officials said they will “remain on duty to help Roswell as long as necessary” with 57 guardsmen on the ground.
They said the Guard had several tactical vehicles at the scene that were capable of driving in 4 feet of water.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque said Monday that the rest of the week would remain dry, with the high temperature in Roswell expected to climb to almost 90 degrees on Thursday.