Evacuating Presidio

PRESIDIO Flood control crews on the Rio Grande are being evacuated as the river nears the top of a levee protecting Presidio.

City Administrator Cynthia Clarke said that the city has "re-evacuated" the areas of the city that were evacuated Sunday, including much of downtown and the low-lying areas near the river.

Emergency workers also shut down the Presidio-Ojinaga International Bridge connecting the city to Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico, which was in danger of flooding as the Rio Grande continued to rise Tuesday.

"Do not travel down here if your intent is to get to Ojinaga," Clarke warned travelers, adding that there had been three breaks in a levee. "There's no way to get across."

She estimated 100 residents and stranded border crossers took shelter Tuesday afternoon at Presidio Elementary School, and she anticipated an additional 50 would arrive by the end of the day.

James Leiman, a spokesman for the International Water and Boundary Commission, said Tuesday the commission has evacuated its crews because there's nothing they can do. Leiman says the water is within a foot of the top of the levee.

The IWBC is responsible for maintaining border levees on the Rio Grande, which separates Mexico and the United States.

Hundreds of residents in low-lying areas of the town of about 5,000 people already have been evacuated.

Water releases from the Rio Conches and Luis Leon Reservoir a few miles up river from Presidio in the Mexican state of Chihuahua have led to most of the problems. Mexican officials have been releasing water daily to ease massive flooding on the southern side of the border.

OA staff writer Doug Carman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.