About 20 people required rescues during intense flash flooding in Vado and Del Cerro on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Doña Ana County Commissioners unanimously declared a disaster and are seeking state aid in digging out and making repairs. (Courtesy of Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue)
The Doña Ana Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday evening to request state disaster assistance after recent heavy rains caused flash flooding in Vado and Del Cerro.
The resolution requests Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declare a state of emergency and establishes a Disaster Housing Program to fund grant requests for people impacted by flooding. The county created the program with $500,000 from its hospital lease fund.
“No other county or municipality has ever done this,” Chair Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez said. “This is the first time anyone has ever offered emergency funding for homeowners to find emergency housing.”
According to the resolution, the fund will support indigent renters and homeowners who lost their primary residents due to flooding proved by a damage assessment and photo documentation. Homeowners with a total loss of home can receive $9,000 grants for the purpose of obtaining safe housing, while renters will be eligible for a$3,000 grant for obtaining a new place to rent. If the loss is only temporary, homeowners and renters will receive emergency housing grants of $1,500.
Lt. Governor Howie Morales appeared at the meeting in person and commended the commissioners for their quick action. He said he supported the disaster declaration.
Morales said the state has already requested an assessment team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy to Doña Ana, to see if the damage meets the threshold for federal assistance.
“Right now we have floods that are taking place in Ruidoso again, we have flood warnings around San Miguel,” Morales said. “By adding Doña Ana County to that national disaster declaration, frees up flexibility as well…for some assistance we’re not able to do at the local or state level.”
Damage from severe and repeated flooding in the burn scars around Ruidoso in the Sacramento mountains to the east continued Thursday, as the river rose above 12 feet and swept away a home. Floods on July 9 killed three people, destroyed hundreds of homes and necessitated the rescue of dozens.
President Donald Trump recently approved additional federal funds for Lincoln County, but state officials said they’re pushing for the federal government to grant outstanding requests for flooding damages in Chaves, Otero and Valencia counties.
Flood Commissioner John Gwynne presented a drone survey of Vado, showing much of the water remains in the days since Tuesday night’s flooding as many of the channels for draining the water remain plugged with debris and sediment.
“At the earliest, it’ll be next week before we can actually start moving sediment, and that’s if it’s dry enough,” Gwynne said.
Stephen Lopez, the assistant county manager, said local wastewater pumps have removed about 3.3 million gallons of water but are under strain from moving that much water. Without further repair of canals and roads, the county cannot add more pumps, since there’d be nowhere for the water to go.
Commissioner Susana Chaparro asked if there’s continuing threats from sewage backing up into the standing floodwaters.
“The water is absolutely contaminated,” Lopez said. “Not just with human excrement, but also with a lot of runoff from animals.”
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