A tornado touched down in Santa Fe Saturday night, October 24, for the first time in more than 50 years. The storm caused heavy damage to several homes and displaced families.
The National Weather Service in Albuquerque confirmed that an EF-1-rated tornado formed Saturday in Santa Fe, and then traveled northward for around 1.4 miles before ending near the College of Santa Fe at 7:08 pm.
What we know about the tornado
The tornado significantly damaged at least eight homes, including two with roof collapses. Residents of 70 years said that they have never seen something like this in Santa Fe city limits.
“I grew up here, local Santa Fe’ans,” impacted resident Gary Delgado said, per KRQE. “We’ve never seen anything like this. Nobody’s ever expected a tornado in Santa Fe, especially in our neighborhood.”
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The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning just after 7 m Saturday. The city subsequently sent out emergency alerts by text message.
Resident Miguel Rodriguez said he got the alert just seconds before the disaster.
“I got the alert and I yelled at my daughter and her mother to get into the bathroom,” Rodriguez said. “Three seconds passed and it hit. I wasn’t able to make it to the bathroom, I laid down on the floor and looking through my sliding glass door I could see it coming.”
As a result of the storm, several trees were uprooted, leading to downed power lines with reported funnel clouds in the area. Many homes were damaged and a gas meter was struck.
Authorities are now asking residents to avoid Rancho Siringo Road as power lines are down in the area.
“It happened in an instant, but I saw the neighbor’s roof coming at us and debris flying over us,” Rodriguez said. “Parts of it landed on my house but my yard was completely devastated, the wall was torn down, trees decimated. But fortunately we survived.”
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Delgado said he got the alert as the tornado was going over his house.
“I ran out my back door and when I looked to the left about three telephone lines down I saw it coming,” Delgado said. “Within five to six seconds back in the house, shut the door, I yelled tornado and it hit the house.”
The city said that neighborhoods between Siringo and Zia reported damage from the tornado.
“From what we can tell assessing the damage, it skipped from south to north through this neighborhood for about a three-mile stretch,” Peter Olson of the City of Santa Fe said.
Neighbors, city officials, and police worked together on Sunday, October 25, to help residents who were impacted.
“This is the first time in recent memory and recent history where there was damage to property,” Santa Fe Mayor Michael Garcia said. “Unfortunately in this situation some homeowners are going to be displaced. But we’re going to be working to recover.”
Meanwhile, City of Santa Fe officials stated that they are coordinating emergency response and recovery efforts. City officials said that no injuries were reported as of Sunday morning. The city’s emergency management team is now working with the National Weather Service and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to assess the tornado’s impact, which includes damage to public spaces and private properties.