September 26, 1974
Rains Here Subside!!
Presidio and Shafter have been hard hit with the rains that began in the area September 14 with some 7.35 inches recorded in Marfa and up to 14 inches in the Chinati Mountain and Presidio areas.
Wednesday morning the El Paso Weather Bureau issued a statement canceling the flash flood warnings for Southwest Texas stating that the general rains were ending but scattered showers could be expected. At midday Wednesday, the sun was shining in Marfa with scattered clouds about the area.
Adobes, a small settlement above Presidio, recorded 6.73 inches from the 14th through the 21st. Normally a dry area, there was no rain recorded here from Sept. 21,1973, until March 12,1974. Rains in the Shafter-Presidio and northern Mexico caused the Rio Grande to go on a rampage last week and continues to threaten the valley area from Candelaria to the Big Bend Park. The entire Presidio Valley area has been flooded with what some estimate total losses to all crops in the rich farming area of the county. Dikes along the Rio Grande had held until last Friday when surges of water brought the Rio Grande to flood stage and by Saturday all the farming area was inundated.
After reaching a crest of some 21 feet on Monday, the Rio Grande receded to about 18 feet and then to about 15 feet Tuesday afternoon. However, wary watchers were expecting more rain Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The International Bridge between Presidio Ojinaga, Mexico, was at one time under water. Tuesday reports said the bridge was visible but the approaches] were still flooded. Many erroneous reports were issued that floods had caused wide scale evacuations of homes in both Ojinaga and Presidio when actually the only people evacuated were those living in the low farming area. No loss of life or serious injuries due to the flooding had been reported to officials Tuesday night.
Saturday morning many sections of Highway 67 from Marfa to Shafter were underwater as normally dry arroyos and creeks ran out of their banks. The highway has remained open. The highway between Presidio and Redford was closed for a time Saturday and the highway from Presidio to Ruidosa was also closed for a time. Workmen of the Texas Highway Department worked to keep the roads in the area passable and many were open for traffic on Monday.
Highway FM 169 Casa Piedra sustained damage that will take a few days to repair but is expected to be open shortly. The historic silver mining town of Shafter received damage Saturday when the high waters of Cibolo Creek got into some of the homes along the banks of the creek. Cibolo rampaged out of its banks Saturday morning causing the residents along the creek to evacuate to higher ground. A swinging foot bridge across the creek was washed away, cutting off part of the town. Reports from measuring devices indicated that Ciboclo was running some 19,860 cubic feet of water a second during this stage. Residents of Shafter were watching the flow of the creek closely Tuesday as more rains were reported in the mountains.