The Floods Were Bad
The flooding from Monday night was severe all over town, and here in Nava Ade. At our house we had some leaky windows and doors, but our home is fine, and my gardens survived. Some gravel washed down our street, but nothing bad.
But just around the corner from us, next to the community clubhouse (we are just three houses away from the clubhouse), the arroyo overflowed and torrents washed through five homes on the street behind the clubhouse. The neighbors there, standing in front of their soaked furniture and rugs piled out in the street today, said it poured from the back door, through the house and out the front, leaving mud in their living rooms, three feet of standing water in one garage, and washing away driveways and front yards. They do not have flood insurance.
There were another half dozen other flooded-out homes on other streets further away in our development. It was highly random -- it all depended on the narrow path where the raging water coursed, so one house got flooded, another next to it did not.
And even where homes did not flood, there are inches of mud and gravel covering the roads in some spots. The walking trails behind the clubhouse are gone -- not just mud covered or filled with debris, but simply wiped away.
The town is addressing emergency clean up, repairing the impassable roads and arroyos. They sent equipment to clear a huge mud pile on Dancing Ground road yesterday to make it driveable, but our gravel strewn streets and piles of washed debris will remain for a long time, as long as cars can get through. Clean up will be a big job.
The Santa Fe river had been undergoing a major wetland restoration project this summer, costing millions. They planted thousands of willows and cottonwood saplings all along the river course, and I delighted seeing their progess each time we passed. Now, after the floods, all are gone.
There are many tales of destruction all over town. No loss of life, thank goodness. It's messy and looks awful in many places. But my heart goes out to the neighbors whose homes were ruined and they have no insurance.
We don't have flood insurance either.
But just around the corner from us, next to the community clubhouse (we are just three houses away from the clubhouse), the arroyo overflowed and torrents washed through five homes on the street behind the clubhouse. The neighbors there, standing in front of their soaked furniture and rugs piled out in the street today, said it poured from the back door, through the house and out the front, leaving mud in their living rooms, three feet of standing water in one garage, and washing away driveways and front yards. They do not have flood insurance.
There were another half dozen other flooded-out homes on other streets further away in our development. It was highly random -- it all depended on the narrow path where the raging water coursed, so one house got flooded, another next to it did not.
And even where homes did not flood, there are inches of mud and gravel covering the roads in some spots. The walking trails behind the clubhouse are gone -- not just mud covered or filled with debris, but simply wiped away.
The town is addressing emergency clean up, repairing the impassable roads and arroyos. They sent equipment to clear a huge mud pile on Dancing Ground road yesterday to make it driveable, but our gravel strewn streets and piles of washed debris will remain for a long time, as long as cars can get through. Clean up will be a big job.
The Santa Fe river had been undergoing a major wetland restoration project this summer, costing millions. They planted thousands of willows and cottonwood saplings all along the river course, and I delighted seeing their progess each time we passed. Now, after the floods, all are gone.
There are many tales of destruction all over town. No loss of life, thank goodness. It's messy and looks awful in many places. But my heart goes out to the neighbors whose homes were ruined and they have no insurance.
We don't have flood insurance either.
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