Governor declares emergency for rain-soaked Doña Ana County
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Aug. 16—Two days after Doña Ana County leaders declared a state of emergency for the rain-soaked region, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham committed up to $750,000 to support public recovery efforts in the county.
Doña Ana County was hit hard by rainstorms that led to flash flooding and the mandatory evacuation of part of La Union, a rural community near the New Mexico-Texas state line.
The governor declared a state of emergency for the county Sunday, issuing an executive order that directs the state Department of Finance and Administration to make emergency financial resources available to the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The order directs the funds to be "expended for the resources and services necessary to avoid or minimize economic or physical harm until the situation becomes stabilized on a temporary, emergency basis for lodging, sheltering, health care, food, any transportation or shipping necessary to protect lives or public property or for any other action necessary to protect the public health, safety, welfare and property."
More thunderstorms were expected to hit the region between Sunday and Monday night, said Jason Grzywacz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in El Paso.
He said a late afternoon or early evening thunderstorm system Monday could bring "local heavy rains and, given the area is going to be very sensitive to any rainfall in that area, a potential for flash flooding to increase."
