New Mexico experienced severe monsoon rains this month, prompting flooding concerns by New Mexico officials.
Jason Coil, operations section chief, confirmed those fears, saying, "The way we’re treating tomorrow is that tomorrow it’s going to flood."
Monsoon season recently started in the state and it has resulted in very heavy rains over the course of the first few days of the monsoon season, KOB 4 reported. While rainfall can help in New Mexico due to the extreme droughts that the state is prone to, it can also cause severe destruction.
Now, officials are worried about the effect that the monsoon season will have on communities which were affected by wildfires. Having just dealt with one natural disaster crisis, officials are concerned about their ability to deal with another one so soon.
In addition, the wildfires not only leave communities unprepared for another disaster, but they also make flooding a harder problem to overcome. Wildfires leave a burn scar which is known to make flooding worse due to the ground that has been scorched by fire.
To combat the issue, firefighters are working with local governments and agencies to strategically place sandbags around the vulnerable areas in order to mitigate the damage that could be inflicted by the wildfires and flooding.
This week, the National Weather Service is warning New Mexico residents that there is a high probability of thunderstorms in the areas around the burn scar that was left by the wildfires.