Red Cross opens Zuni shelter as flash flooding forces evacuations

The American Red Cross opened a shelter at the Zuni Community Building, 29 Harker Cir, Zuni, NM 87327, for residents displaced by flash flooding in Zuni Pueblo. People evacuated from Old Gallup Road and nearby areas had a place to go as rising water spread across roads and low-lying parts of the community.

The National Weather Service office in Albuquerque replaced the flash flood warning with an areal flood warning until 10:15 p.m. MT after public reports of ongoing flooding impacts in the Zuni Pueblo area. The office said multiple roads were already flooding and law enforcement was advising residents to stay away from flooded areas. By 2:45 p.m. July 21, evacuations had been ordered for parts of Zuni Pueblo because of emergency conditions and flash flooding.

Another temporary shelter was available at the Sanostee multipurpose center, where residents could get blankets and water. That backup space gave evacuees another place to wait out the storm while roads remained unsafe. Local weather reports said fast-moving water from Oak Wash was running over Old Gallup Road, Lakeside Drive and Sandy Springs Road, and one social-media post said more than 1 inch of rain had fallen in the area.

The flooding left transportation as one of the biggest problems for residents trying to leave affected neighborhoods. With law enforcement telling people to avoid flooded areas and several roads already under water, anyone in the path of the floodwaters had to move quickly or wait for a safe route out. The Red Cross opened the Zuni shelter in direct response to those flooding impacts, giving displaced families a place to land while emergency crews dealt with the road conditions across Zuni Pueblo.