Socorro County residents near the confluence of the Rio Puerco and Rio Grande were forced to evacuate after a week of intense rainfall sent the Rio Puerco surging over its banks. National Guard crews joined local fire departments in active water rescues near Interstate 25 and Highway 60, while emergency officials scrambled to move people to safety and warned drivers to stay away from the area entirely.
According to KOAT, the National Guard conducted an active water rescue alongside the Valencia County Fire Department and the Socorro County Office of Emergency Management near I-25 and Highway 60. High-water rescue teams carried out evacuations in the area, per the emergency management office, as the swollen river cut through low-lying terrain and threatened roadways travelers rely on to move through the region.
The Socorro County Office of Emergency Management advised residents evacuating from the San Francisco area to relocate to Finley Gym in Socorro, and urged travelers more broadly to avoid the area altogether. The agency also confirmed that Highway 60 was flooded, while the New Mexico Department of Transportation reported that the Rio Puerco was running at high volumes.
A River Running Higher Than Before
Reports indicate the Rio Puerco was flowing higher this time than it was during the flash flooding that struck Socorro County at the beginning of October — flooding that had already caused significant damage before this latest surge arrived. That earlier event left a lasting mark on the county's infrastructure and its residents, some of whom were still recovering when the river rose again.
Just weeks earlier, flooding isolated 12 homes in the community of San Francisco, New Mexico, after the Rio Puerco overflowed, submerging the main access road and carving out sinkholes that closed Ramon Lopez Road, the same outlet reported. Neighbors joined the Socorro County Fire District and New Mexico Game and Fish in efforts to divert water away from homes, while some residents were left driving an ATV through the submerged road or taking a hazardous 20-minute detour just to leave the area, according to KOAT's earlier coverage.
Recovery Efforts Still Underway When New Rain Hit
Before this week's flooding, Socorro County was already deep into recovery from earlier storms. As of October 9, the state had completed a preliminary assessment of damage to county infrastructure, according to The Chieftain. State personnel had inspected about 1% of the county's roughly 1,500 miles of road infrastructure and found documented damage above the threshold needed to qualify for state assistance.
The newspaper's reporting noted that the county, an electric cooperative and affected utilities could be reimbursed for up to 75% of eligible infrastructure damages through state funds. Four families had already been identified as displaced from their homes, and officials said repairs to the county's extensive road network could take several months.
Socorro County had also distributed 17,000 sandbags in the preceding couple of weeks as residents braced for more rain, the same report found. That effort built on earlier work, when 20 detainees from the Socorro County Detention Center filled approximately 9,000 sandbags that officials coordinated for delivery to fire stations across the county, according to a separate KOAT report. That earlier storm also dumped more than 3 inches of rain over just a few hours in parts of the county, closing roads including Route 380 in San Antonio near the Rio Grande and prompting multiple water rescues by the Valencia County Fire Department Water Rescue Team working alongside other agencies overnight.
Saturated Ground Raises Risk of More Flooding
Officials have warned that the ground across Socorro County remains saturated from the repeated rounds of rain, increasing the potential for additional runoff and flooding even after a storm passes. The Chieftain reported that residents in outlying areas were advised to prepare to be cut off for two or three days if additional flooding damages roads or prevents travel, a warning that now looks especially relevant with the Rio Puerco overflowing again near I-25 and Highway 60.
For now, the priority remains getting people out of harm's way. Emergency officials have directed San Francisco-area evacuees to Finley Gym in Socorro and continue to warn travelers to steer clear of the flooded stretch of Highway 60 while rescue crews work the area.
