People In NM Getting Agitated About The Flooding

Rain totals:

2:56 p.m. — The National Weather Service has released new rainfall totals from across the state, and they show that the wet weather system that moved into New Mexico a few days ago still packs some punch.

Here are some of the more noteworthy totals of rainfall collected in the last 62 hours:
•Pecos at 7″
•Tijeras at 3.84″
•Roswell at 5.46″
•Bonito Lake at 5.27″
•Los Alamos at 6.1″
•Tucumcari at 4.04″
•Farmington at 3.24″
•Jemez Springs at 3.39″
•Rio Rancho (Idalia and Rainbows) at 2.17″
•Socorro at 4.59″

Also, in Albuquerque:
•Montgomery and Moon at 2.24″
•Indian School and Wyoming at 2.21″
•Aztec and San Mateo at 1.99″
•Sage and 98th Street at 1.63″
•Zuni and San Mateo at 1.63″
•Constitution and Girard at 1.43″
•Central and Coors at 1.28″

More on the details:

Much of Albuquerque was preparing Friday evening for the impact of floodwaters headed down the Rio Grande. The flood was raging past dams at levels rarely seen since the 1960s.

The river was expected to flow into the bosque and potentially reach Albuquerque levees, officials said at a late afternoon news conference. But the flow was not expected to rise above any levees, according to Mike Hamman of the Bureau of Reclamation.

...The flooding continued Friday in the San Felipe Pueblo, where flood waters inundated areas along the river and tributaries. Water levels rival those of the late 1930s and early 1940s, according to the National Weather Service.

Homes near the rivers are being flooded, and other structures in the “old pueblo” are also in danger. Flooding of the magnitude in that stretch of the Rio Grande have reached 17,400 cubic feet per second, the highest observed since 1955.

...Dams that usually divert water from La Union, south of Las Cruces, burst yesterday, leaving many roads completely washed out and homes flooded with dirt and water. A water tank that sits atop a mesa southwest of the town was also damaged, adding drinking water to the deluge, residents said.

“We’ve been the ones who have been shoveling since yesterday,” said resident Irene Ortiz, who rushed home yesterday from her job in El Paso to find access limited and widespread damage. “We’ve just been out there getting wet.”

...Between 100 and 200 people are stranded on the west bank of the Animas and Las Palomas creeks in Sierra County, and they’re under voluntary evacuation.

...At Santa Clara Pueblo, a voluntary evacuation is under way for residents who live in the west side housing area, according to Pueblo Gov. J. Bruce Tafoya. He said about 12-14 homes are affected.

...Tafoya also said he’s asking Los Alamos National Laboratory workers to bypass N.M. 30 today because of fears that the surging waters from Santa Clara Creek might endanger the bridge passing over it.

Also, the Frijoles Canyon section of Bandelier National Monument was closed today because of anticipated flooding, according toa recorded message at the visitor’s center there.

Both Santa Clara and Bandelier are affected by rapid water runoff from land scarred by fires in recent years.

Meanwhile, flood warnings on the Rio Grande:

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE RIO GRANDE AT ALBUQUERQUE.

...

* AT 7:15 PM FRIDAY THE STAGE WAS 5.2 FEET.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 8.0 FEET.
* FORECAST...RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY EARLY SATURDAY TO NEAR 8.1 FEET
SATURDAY MORNING. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE BY SATURDAY
AFTERNOON.
* IMPACT...AT 8.0 FEET...DIKES AND LEVEES CONSTRUCTED AFTER THE FLOODS
OF 1942 PROTECT DEVELOPED AND PERSONAL PROPERTY NEAR THE RIVER IN
THE ALBUQUERQUE METROPOLITAN AREA. LEVEE HEIGHTS RANGE FROM 8 TO 12
FEET. FURTHER UPRIVER AND DOWNRIVER FROM THE DIKES AND LEVEES...
WATER IS FLOWING OVER NATURAL BANKS FLOODING AGRICULTURAL AND
GRAZING LOWLANDS. SUSTAINED FLOWS OF 8000 TO 10,000 CUBIC FEET PER
SECOND OVER A PERIOD OF 24 HOURS WOULD LIKELY RESULT IN SOME
BANK EROSION OUTSIDE OF LEVEE PROTECTED AREAS.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 7.9 FEET
ON JUN 10 1983.
...

* THERE WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT RISE OF WATER ON THE RIO GRANDE
RIVER THROUGH ALBUQUERQUE...AND POINTS SOUTH TO BERNARDO.
THE WAVE OF WATER WILL REACH A PEAK IN ALBUQUERQUE LATER
TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING...AND POINTS FARTHER SOUTH
LATER SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. DURING THIS TIME LOW-LYING
AREAS ALONG AND NEAR THE RIVER MAY EXPERIENCE SOME FLOODING.
THIS WOULD INCLUDE WATER FLOWING OVER NATURAL BANKS...FLOODING
AGRICULTURAL AND GRAZING LOWLANDS.