CNN
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About 160 people had to shelter in place for hours at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico due to flash flooding before they were evacuated Saturday, authorities said.
Eddy County, which covers most of the park, was under a flash flood warning Saturday afternoon, and the park received 0.6 inches of rain that day, according to the National Weather Service. The torrential downpours caused floodwaters to flood the park.
Unable to leave, visitors to the park sheltered at the visitor center for nearly nine hours, CNN affiliate KOAT reported. Park officials allowed people to leave just before midnight, according to KOAT.
“Carlsbad Caverns National Park is being evacuated and will be CLOSED until further notice,” said a social media post Saturday night from the city government. “120-160 people stay in place.”
Carlsbad Caverns is a World Heritage Site with more than 119 limestone caves, according to the National Park Service.
Monica Cardoza and her family were visiting the caves on a day trip from El Paso, Texas, when rangers approached and told them they had to evacuate as the storm worsened.
They were allowed to leave the visitor center around 11:30 p.m., her husband, Richard Cardoza, said. He also described a dangerous drive out of a park.
“There are three or four places that if they hadn’t escorted us, I wouldn’t have gone through,” he said.
“It was scary and we thought, ‘Oh my God, are we ever going to get out of here?’ Monica Cardoza told CNN. “But thank God, we’re safe.”
The visitor center and cave remained closed on Sunday as maintenance crews worked to assess and clean up debris on the road, according to the National Park Service.
Almost 10 million people across New Mexico, Arizona and western Texas were tracked by flooding Saturday.
On Fridayin Utah’s Zion National Park, rangers were alerted to hikers “stumbling” and found an injured hiker who had been dragged downstream “several times” hundred yards”.
