Waterlogged vehicles were still submerged along some city streets in Roswell, while others were seen smashed along bridge supports and tossed up against trees and power poles after being swept away by the floodwaters on Oct. 19 and 20.
All the standing water and mangled masses of twisted guardrails and splintered wood were scenes unfamiliar for the community. Surrounded by usually dusty plains and dairy farms, Roswell isn't famous for any notable rainfall but rather for being the spot where a spacecraft purportedly crashed in 1947.
Less than a foot of rain usually falls in Roswell an average year, but forecasters with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque said that the weekend deluge was spurred by an upper-level low pressure system that was parked over Arizona.
More than 300 people were rescued by the New Mexico National Guard. New Mexico State Police said two people died as a result of the flash flood.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared an emergency in response to the flooding, clearing the way for $1 million in state funding to bolster relief efforts.
Forecasters said 5.78 inches of rain fell on Roswell on Oct. 19, breaking the city's previous daily record of 5.65 inches set on Nov. 1, 1901. Some areas surrounding Roswell received around 9 inches of rain in a matter of hours, according to the National Weather Service.
