The people of La Union are demanding accountability from Doña Ana County leaders as their community remains destroyed from horrific flooding that happened on August 12.
Last Monday, Doña Ana County leaders held a community meeting about the flooding and told KFOX14 they didn’t have a long-term solution, and they still don’t have answers now.
“We obviously need to come up with a solution, and that solution is unfortunately going to take time and in between now and when we have some solutions in place, we could get more rain that could cause more damage,” Stephen Lopez, the manager of Doña Ana County’s Office of Emergency Management, said.
KFOX14 asked Lopez about how long it will take to come up with a solution for the damage caused by flooding.
Reporter Salina Madrid: So what is the timeline for this problem to be fixed in your eyes?
Stephen Lopez: If I could give you a timeline it would mean we had a solution and until we have a solution, we can’t give a timeline.
Reporter Salina Madrid: So what’s the timeline for a solution?
Stephen Lopez: Until we have a solution, we don’t have a timeline.
The flooding on Aug. 12 turned roads into rivers, for some, destroying everything they’ve ever worked for.
KFOX14 asked Lopez what he would do if he experienced the devastation that the people of La Union still continue to deal with.
Stephen Lopez: I would understand exactly what the people in La Union are going through, I’d be frustrated too.
Reporter Salina Madrid: But what would you do? Would you pack your stuff and leave the place where you were born and raised?
Stephen Lopez: Like I said, I understand exactly the frustrations they’re going through and that’s why we’re still working with them.
The major flooding in La Union has not just happened once, in the last 20 years, it’s happened three times.
A second community meeting will be held Thursday after the one held last week left residents feeling hopeless.
“Part of why we’re having these meetings is to find out from the individual community members what their specific situations are and what ideas they have that might best meet their needs,” Lopez said.
Reporter Salina Madrid: But think that’s the biggest frustration is these people in La Union are continuing to give you guys ideas, they’ve been giving you ideas for 20 years now, more than that for some, and still nothing is being done. They feel like continued broken promises are happening. Can you understand that?
Stephen Lopez: Absolutely.
Since the previous meeting, Lopez said the county has been in talks with New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham about how she can help.
Lopez said the county can only do so much when dealing with private property and they need to get the state involved.
‘It’s our understanding the governor is going to be coming down this week and hopefully be making some announcements related to some of the things we are trying to put forth at the state level,’ Lopez said.
KFOX14 reached out to the Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Press Secretary Nora Meyers Sackett via email Tuesday morning and asked if she was going to come to La Union and see the damage herself like the community is asking.
She responded with this:
As you know, the state administration has been on the ground in La Union from the outset of the flooding, with DHSEM, DOT, and NMSP staff involved in assistance in the immediate aftermath – Lt. Governor Howie Morales has also toured the area and met with affected families directly on behalf of the governor and her administration. Numerous communities all across New Mexico have been affected by disastrous flooding this year, with the governor issuing multiple emergency declarations for counties from Doña Ana to Rio Arriba. The state has made millions of dollars in recovery assistance available to affected localities and continues to work with local authorities on how those response efforts can be improved.
KFOX14 emailed back re-asking the question, “Is the Governor going to come down to see La Union herself like the community is asking?”
Sackett responded saying: "visiting communities both large and small all across New Mexico is one of the best parts of the governor's job, and while doing so has been made more difficult by the ongoing pandemic and the spike in the Delta variant, we look forward to continuing to spend time with New Mexicans in every corner of the state."
Sign up for our newsletter and get each days top news stories delivered to your inbox.