It has been a water-soaked day for a lot of folks in Rio Arriba County. They got hit hard Monday night with more than two inches of rain in some areas.
Families have spent Tuesday piling dirt, getting sandbags and cleaning up the mess. One resident, Megan Martinez, said her front yard started filling up the previous night.
It may look bad now, but Martinez said it was even worse two years ago.
“It was just coming down hard and it was just filling up,” she said. “I didn't think it would happen again, but it did.”
The arroyo had flooded, and her home along with it.
“That’s when it came through the culverts back there and all the water came in here, and we were flooded for like almost a month,” he said.
They have been rebuilding over the last two years, making sure her home would be safe this time around.
“We built the house higher up,” she said. “And I mean we put more gravel, but it just came hard.”
Monday’s heavy rain still flooded her front yard, but this time her home and everything in it was safe.
“I wish I was out of here, but what can I do now?” she said.
Martinez says they'll be putting more dirt and gravel to try and prevent future flooding.
The county has been out working on cleaning the roads and flood zones. The fire marshal said this is definitely a wakeup call. They do want to be proactive about the problem and see what resources are available, whether it’s expanding the arroyo or updating the irrigation system.