Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Storm damage widespread

Tech area takes brunt of hailstorm; schools closed today

Lisa J. Tabet El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

LTABET Socorro residents scrambled for cover Tuesday afternoon when one of the most damaging hailstorms the county has ever seen cut a swath through the city.

The storm blew in around 2 p.m. and deposit hail nearly as large as baseballs, causing widespread damage already being estimated in the millions throughout the city.

The unknown aftermath of the storm prompted the Socorro Consolidated School District to cancel school today (Wednesday), and New Mexico Tech, which was hit very hard, cancelled classes Tuesday night and today.

The National Weather Service reported that Doppler radar indicated tornadic activity about six miles east of Socorro about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, although there were no eyewitness accounts of a tornado touching down.

A portion of the roof on the Wal-Mart under construction here collapsed.

Police Chief Joel Haley said the storm caused property damage all over the city.

"I'm guessing we have between 200 and 300 cars that were damaged," he said.

Haley said there were also damaged power lines, which caused the traffic lights to stop working along California Street.

A Socorro Electric Cooperative employee said lines were down all over the county including in the city.

Haley said there were some injuries reported as well.

"People were getting hit by the hail," he said.

At least two people were reported felled by the hail, one of them reportedly knocked unconscious.

Socorro Hospital Administra-tor Hoyt Scabelund said there was an influx of cases in the Emergency Room after the storm. He said there were several injuries caused by broken windshields.

"There were abrasions and cuts caused by glass," Scabelund said. "Thankfully, there was nothing life-threatening."

A spokesman for New Mexico State Police said they didn't get any injuries reported, however there was plenty of property damage.

Vehicles and trees at New Mexico Tech may have absorbed the most damage. Outside of Brown Hall, there was a line of cars without glass and trees without leaves.

Campus police said there was no way they could assess the damage this early. Buildings around campus were reported to have broken windows, and the entire campus closed when the electricity went out.

Bullock Avenue and Franklin Street were both closed due to flooding.

Socorro County Emergency Management Preparedness Coordinator Toby Jaramillo said the county will be organizing an emergency meeting today (Wednesday) to assess the damage.

"We had homes with shattered windows and skylights," Jaramillo said.

He said he was in touch with the Department of Public Safety in Santa Fe.

"This storm did a lot of damage," Jaramillo said.

Haley said he spoke to many older residents in Socorro, and reported that no one had ever seen hail like that before.

"It was a good one," Haley said.

The National Weather Service issued a "hazardous weather outlook" for Socorro County and surrounding areas at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

There appeared to be little effect from the storm south or north of the city itself, with no significant damage reported in either San Antonio or Escondida.

ltabet@dchieftain.com

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