The village of Ruidoso is requesting an emergency declaration as monsoonal rainstorms continue to pour over burn scars, making for dangerous flooding.
The village called an emergency meeting on Friday, June 27, as thunderstorms hit the region over the last few days, creating flash flooding that left some drivers trapped in vehicles, leading to water rescues.
The emergency declaration will allow Ruidoso to tap into more funding, Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said.
“Now, this will be sent to the governor’s office,” Crawford said in the meeting. “We already spoke to the governor and her staff that they will be moving on this pretty quickly.”
Crawford said Lincoln County officials would also be holding an emergency meeting June 27 to approve requesting the emergency declaration as well.
Ruidoso under flood watch
Ruidoso, a mountain resort community north of El Paso, continues to be under a flood watch from noon until 9 p.m. on Friday, June 27, for slow-moving thunderstorms that could drop up to two inches of rain an hour, according to the National Weather Service.
The storms are expected to taper off into the weekend, but are expected to make a comeback next week.
Streets closed because of flooding, racing to continue
Videos shared on Facebook by a Ruidoso resident captured fast-moving water near cabins as storms hit the area on June 26. Several streets were deemed impassable and had to be closed, according to updates shared on the village of Ruidoso Facebook page.
Another video showed the condition of Ruidoso Downs Race Track, which was spared from flood waters. Berms were added to help prepare for this weekend’s racing involving the Rainbow Futurity and Derby, General manager Rick Baugh said.
“We were watching the water flow in the past 24 hours to see what would happen, like everyone else. The waters flowed straight through the property within its banks,” Baugh said in a statement to the El Paso Times on June 24.
The Rainbow Futurity trials are on Friday and Saturday, June 27-28, and the Rainbow Oaks and Rainbow Derby trials are on Sunday, June 29.
What is an emergency declaration?
Emergency declarations can be issued at the local, state, territorial, tribal, and federal levels to activate resources and coordinate responses to disasters, according to FEMA.
State and local officials can issue emergency declarations to immediately mobilize local resources and implement emergency plans.
Ruidoso provides map with real-time road updates
Ruidoso residents and visitors can track conditions on the village’s real-time road map.
The RAIN (Ruidoso Alert Information Network) map is provided to inform the public about flooded roads and is continuously updated, according to the village of Ruidoso.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X; natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Ruidoso requests emergency declaration as village under flood watch heading into weekend
Reporting by Natassia Paloma, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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