TIJERAS, N.M. (KRQE) –A powerful hail and rainstorm on Saturday triggered unprecedented flooding in the East Mountains, but an arroyo restoration project already underway helped protect the community. The National Weather Service is calling it a 1-in-200-year event, meaning there was just a .5% chance of a storm this severe happening in any given year.
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“While we think this type of rainfall is very rare, I think it’s important to note that this is an event that is increasingly likely in the face of a changing climate,” Eric Oliver, Chair of the Bernalillo County Commission.
The Tijeras community is now without a pedestrian bridge that has served for decades as a busy thoroughfare for students walking between the community center and a nearby middle school. “We need folks to understand that you cannot drop your kids off and just expect them to cross the creek. We’re in the monsoon season that worries us, so please work with us and be patient,” said Andre Dickson, City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department Open Space Director…