Evacuations in San Juan County have been lifted after recent flooding, but some families are returning to find their homes gone, including an expecting mother facing her second devastating loss in six years.
SAN JUAN COUNTY, N.M. —
Evacuations along all three rivers in San Juan County have been lifted following the latest round of flooding, but some families returning home are finding their properties destroyed.
Officials are warning residents about potential hazards as they assess the damage. “Obviously, there are going to be some hidden dangers. There’s going to be standing water in some places, water across the road,” Devin Neeley, San Juan County Emergency Management PIO, said.
For those facing extensive damage, assistance is being made available. “First and foremost is crisis cleanup. And over the next couple of days, the crisis cleanup line is going to be taking calls from people who need help cleaning up,” Neeley said.
Among those affected is Madison Abila, an expecting mother who has lost her home for the second time in six years. She recalled the rush to get her family to safety during the flooding. “We went back to the house to save the five cats, and I grabbed the safe that had the kids’ birth certificates, and we left. And by morning it was under water,” Abila said.
This is not the first time Abila has faced such devastation. In 2020, a house fire destroyed her family’s home, forcing them to start over. “I was 20 years old when the house fire happened, and I was pregnant with our first son, and we had moved into that trailer a week after it happened, because I was just so determined to not be anywhere else but at home, our home,” she said.
Now, history is repeating itself. Abila, who is eight months pregnant with her second son, is once again without a home. “There’s still nights that I cry awake and I think of things that can be replaced. But you have to keep going. Life doesn’t stop,” she said.
What should be an exciting time for her family has been overshadowed by another devastating loss. “Now I’m terrified of it. I thought that this pregnancy was going to be a peaceful, happy time, and it’s just been nerve-wracking the entire time,” Abila said.
Despite the challenges, Abila said the support of her community is helping her family take the first steps toward recovery. “Time is what it’s going to take to get through it,” she said.
Electricity has mostly been restored up to customer meters in San Juan County, but residents may need a licensed electrician to check their homes before using power.
