Concerns after last week’s flooding on Sheriff’s mind
Businesses at Downtown Broadway with water at the threshold.
Arroyo next to H&H convenience store on Broadway.
River-like silhouette on 1st Street.
Photos by Lisa Morton
By Lisa Morton
Thursday’s downpour of rain caused flooding in all too common areas of the Van Horn including 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Streets among others. The Culberson County Sheriff’s Office also received a flood, (of calls), with demands for traffic control, water entering residences, concern for evacuation capabilities, along with citizens both inside and outside the city limits complaining about where some of the flooding conditions may have been contributed by from other than the regular “Act of God” explanation.
Recent conditions of the arroyo and drainage channels that feed into it along the 1st Street area, has been addressed by the Town of Van Horn with a widening effort. Sheriff Oscar Carrillo has reached-out to the Union Pacific Railroad seeking guidance on how to coordinate the expansion and also clearing of brush that runs parallel to the railroad tracks. “Just because the emergency is over, for now, doesn’t mean that officials shouldn’t move ahead with addressing the concerns of our citizens”, Carrillo said.
Flooding on Thursday was reported to have measured up to an inch with a key hazard in the event being that it fell in just a 45-minute period. In total, Van Horn received 1.32 inches of rain in the two-day period. The average for this time last year is slightly above average at 1.29 inches. The Year-to-date is also above average and stands at 2.37.
