More than a dozen homes in Northwest El Paso were evacuated due to flooding, water rescue teams got ready and the city's Emergency Operations Center was activated as thunderstorms again hit the Borderland.
A total of 16 homes were evacuated by emergency crews Saturday evening, Oct. 24, due to flooding near Dawnlight Lane after a reservoir overflowed in a neighborhood north of Transmountain Road uphill from Interstate 10, the city of El Paso said in a news statement on Saturday night.
The Red Cross and Sun Metro assisted and all the residents in the evacuated area have a place to stay, the city stated.
The El Paso Office of Emergency Management activated its Emergency Operations Center due to the rainstorm and flash flooding, which included a water
rescue from a vehicle on South Desert Boulevard on the West Side, officials said.
El Paso Water deployed water vacuum trucks to assist with the flooding in the area. And water rescue teams are staged across the city as a precaution and are on standby to respond if emergencies arise, the city added.
The annual Día de los Muertos festival in Downtown El Paso closed early on Saturday evening due to the weather.
El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties in far West Texas and much of New Mexico from Doña Ana County to Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) were under a severe thunderstorm watch issued by the National Weather Service until 9 p.m. Saturday.
Rain, flash flooding and hail had hit El Paso on Friday evening creating a white winter-like scene in some spots of the city due to the large amount of hail and leading to delays and postponement of high school football games.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso emergency center activated, homes evacuated due to flooding
