As Ruidoso officials report that they’re making steady progress in the recovery after Tuesday’s catastrophic flooding, new concern is growing about expected new storms.
The National Weather Service says there’s a 70 percent chance of precipitation on Saturday.
Mayor of the mountain village, Lynn Crawford, said in a morning news conference that the weekend weather could be as damaging as the weather that has already claimed three lives.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said New Mexico has received partial approval for a federal emergency declaration.
That'll bring immediate response and recovery assistance while the state awaits additional support.
Yesterday, in Washington D.C., new Mexico Senator Ben Ray Lujan spoke about the disaster on the Senate floor.
Among the messages he was getting across to his legislative colleagues was a reminder about the role public broadcasters play when communities are roiled by emergencies.
He and other Democrats have been pushing back against a GOP recission measure that would remove more than one billion dollars in federal funding for public radio and TV.
" From every corner of our state, New Mexicans are speaking out with one clear message: 'Do not mess with public broadcasting.' Radio is one of the most dependable ways to get information out when disaster strikes a community," Lujan said.
Stripping $1.1 billion from public broadcasting puts millions of lives at risk, including first responders and families who depend on emergency radio systems and public broadcast to stay informed and stay safe."
Tuesday’s torrential rain raised the Rio Ruidoso by about 20 feet, damaging about 50 homes.
One house was swept away entirely.
The Senate is expected to vote on the recission measure this month.
If passed it would cut fundin for the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, NPR, PBS, and independent public media outlets across the country.
As the recovery work in the mountain village continues, the New Mexico National Guard has about 70 members in Ruidoso.
According to a statement yesterday from the Guard, soldiers and airmen rescued nine people on Tuesday and are continuing their search and rescue efforts.
The state estimates emergency costs and damages now top 50 million dollars.
