ROSWELL, N.M. – It’s been 44 days since historic flooding in Roswell forced evacuations, left folks stranded and killed two people.

First responders had to rescue more than 300 people, and dozens were injured. Now, more than a month later, the community is still picking up the pieces.

“They’re calling it a 500-year flood. Everybody was kind of going about normal, and the rains came and next thing you know there’s buildings being flooded, individuals stranded all over town, our emergency services were overwhelmed, to say the least,” said Adam Roe, owner of Peppers Grill and Bar. 

It’s been more than a month since severe flooding in Chaves County caused hundreds of evacuations, dozens of injuries and even two deaths.

“The water was coming in so much you couldn’t, either you couldn’t push the door out or you wouldn’t want to open the door,” said Roe. 

Adam and his brother, Neil, own Peppers Grill and Bar. He was across town handling a catering event when his employees were stuck inside the Roswell Convention & Civic Center. 

Neil, and his nephew, were trapped outside.

“He was sitting in the parking lot wondering what his next move is going to be,” said Adam. 

The brothers were on the phone when his trucked was lifted up. After that, Adam and his family lost all communication. 

“It was a long night, lot of pacing, a lot of praying,” said Adam. 

Adam’s nephew held onto a tree and his brother grabbed a fence for hours before getting rescued.

“Neil was black and blue from just, what we guess, is debris hitting him while he was in the water, holding on,” Adam said. “I think it could have been a lot worse.”

Luckily, Peppers Grill and Bar wasn’t physically damaged, but their sales are still impacted.

“It’s definitely going to change our off premise catering sales and, you know, this month, and going forward for, you know, several months,” said Adam.

It’s a similar story for many people as they continue to rebuild.

“We are starting to bounce back, and we are going to build back and be better than ever before,” said Andrea Moore, president & CEO of Roswell Chamber of Commerce. 

Moore is also a daughter whose family business was destroyed.

“It was 100% total loss,” said Moore. “My dad is a wonderful person, and he has done his very best to be able to rebuild the family business, and retain our employees so they can continue to provide for their families.”

She says that experience has helped her know what her community needs.

“Now I can find the resources for him and be able to funnel those resources throughout the community and say, ‘Hey, look, here are all of these things that are coming through,’ and be able to reach so many more people,” said Moore. 

If you were impacted by the flooding, you have until Jan. 2 to apply for help from FEMA and the Small Business Administration.

So far, more than $12 million in assistance has been approved. Salvation Army and American Red Cross are still on the ground too.

For more resources in the Roswell area, click here.