A couple in Roswell, New Mexico, narrowly escaped tragedy after their home was destroyed by catastrophic flooding over the weekend.
Trapped on their porch, Chaser Dean Harper and his wife were forced to shelter with their two dogs, two cats, four snakes and lizard as the floodwaters rose Saturday.
“The back wall of the house … pretty sure it fell in. The car floated away. The inside of the house is a river,” Harper said in a video he recorded (above) showing the desperate scene of the floodwaters’ overwhelming force. “We’re trapped on the front porch, and we have all the animals with us.”
Four hours later, the Roswell Fire Department arrived to rescue the stranded family, according to Harper.
“Everything we own is gone,” he said. The record-breaking event began Friday and continued through Sunday due to a slow-moving upper-level low-pressure system sitting on top of the Four Corners region in the Southwest, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Saturday night’s storms repeatedly pummeled the same areas, dumping up to 3 inches of rain per hour. Numerous roads in Roswell remain closed Monday after the town’s astonishing amount of rainfall, equivalent to half a year’s worth, in just a single weekend.
The flooding resulted in two fatalities and the rescue of nearly 300 individuals from impassable and inundated roads. Among those who were trapped was Chaves County Sheriff Mike Herrington, who took to Facebook to describe the unfolding situation.
