Storm 2006

My fellow Northeasterners,

I shouldn't have to tell you about "Storm 2006." But since all cable news resources are tied up in the Middle East... you have no idea what I'm referring to, so let me catch you up.

"Storm 2006" brought up to 15 inches of rain to Dona Ana & El Paso counties yesterday. If 15 inches sounds like nothing to you, remember northeast soil can absorb water. Our land cannot. It's like pouring tons of water on a kitchen floor. It literally hits the ground running. Running over arroyos (traditional earthen paths for rain run-off) and right into homes & businesses.

Images you "can see behind me" yesterday include people brooming water out of their businesses (it made no difference), sections of highway frontage roads washed away, a firetruck stuck in a sinkhole, residents being rescued via bulldozer from otherwise cutoff neighborhoods, factory-sized dumpsters floating through downtown intersections and 2 telephone poles about to fall into a newly created ravine.

My photojournalist, Tom and I visited 4 colonias (population centers that lack sufficient infrastructure), cranking out 15 live shots between 11 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. If you're a fellow ABC7er... you guys rocked yesterday from what I saw. Putting on 14 hours of near-scriptless breaking news WITHOUT A COMMERCIAL BREAK is no simple task. A special thanks to anyone who took the time to answer my 1,528 phone calls.

Thankfully, no one died yesterday. Not one. That banks on "miraculous" considering this area has not seen a storm like this in more than 50 years. Plus, police say 100s of people refused to leave their homes even though their streets were becoming increasingly impassable or... in the case of one village I visited, two gas lines opened up on both ends of the street.

Storm 2006 would have rushed right onto the national front pages... if the Rio Grande spilled over. The banks were at maximum capacity for roughly 50 miles. But they fortunately held and even slightly receeded by 5pm before those waters could have their way with any old shop or home within flowing distance.

-----------

My adopting hometown, Las Cruces NM was unaffected. We received an average 4" of badly-needed rainfall. Plus, my condo is on the 2nd floor, so if you ever hear of insane precipatation in Cruces, my place is safe.

Hope all is well back east. Wear sunscreen. Drink water. And if someone offers you a Crunchwrap Supreme, tell them it's spicy and grilled so you're good to go.... to Las Cruces so I can feed you some real damn Mexican food.

I'm Jarube. Back to y'all...