New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham announces federal disaster aid for severe weather, flooding

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday announced that President Donald Trump had approved a federal disaster declaration following widespread flooding afflicting many northern New Mexico counties and pueblos.

The governor, at a news conference Monday from San Juan County, said she is awaiting specifics on the disaster declaration’s scope. But she said the state needs all the assistance it can get to help pay for a flooding disaster that has damaged thousands of homes and that the governor estimated could ultimately cost up to $300 million.

“The environmental issues and the road issues and the infrastructure issues alone really are expensive, and they are very hidden costs,” Lujan Grisham said. 

San Juan County, and particularly between Bloomfield and Farmington, has borne the brunt of the recent flooding. Approximately 1,500 homes in that area suffered some damage, according to the National Weather Service, and swiftwater crews conducted at least 60 rescues. Helicopter crews rescued additional homeowners who were stranded on their rooftops, officials have said. 

State officials have estimated that emergency response costs following floods and other weather-related havoc have already grown to at least $4.5 million, with an additional $13.7 million expected through Tuesday. 

State officials told Source NM on Friday that full damage estimates aren’t possible until floodwaters recede, but initial estimates are that as many as 18,000 homes sustained flooding damage in San Juan County alone, according to a letter New Mexico’s delegation sent Sunday to President Donald Trump. 

The delegation asked Trump to provide $13.8 million in relief efforts, plus additional funding for ongoing environmental remediation, to San Juan, Rio Arriba, Cibola and Sandoval counties, as well as Acoma Pueblo, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Zia Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo.

“It is imperative that the federal government provides direct and immediate assistance to support local and state efforts to respond to the historic and ongoing flooding,” the lawmakers wrote.

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would spearhead any federal response if a federal declaration is declared, did not immediately respond to Source NM’s request for comment Monday on the status of the delegation’s request. 

Lujan Grisham and state Sen. Steve Lanier (R-Farmington), in the news conference Monday announced that Trump had signed a disaster declaration, but it was not immediately clear what the declaration would cover. 

FEMA can cover a range of costs related to infrastructure and debris removal and can also provide direct assistance to families, depending on what a president authorizes. 

The agency also requires local governments to pay 25% of costs, with the federal government paying the remaining 75% on a reimbursement. Lujan Grisham on Monday urged residents and local elected officials to pressure FEMA to waive that cost-share. 

“I need everyone in the community to bolster that request and to get your own letters ready to go,” she said. 

At the same news conference Monday, San Juan County officials said that rescue operations had largely ceased, but that crews were still in the early stages of assessing potential hazards residents might face upon return to flooded homes.

In the meantime, they urged residents not to return to their homes until those inspections occur over the coming days. They also stressed that lingering floodwaters pose an array of health risks, so they urged residents to avoid them. 

In addition to San Juan County, severe weather has impacted much of northern New Mexico in recent days. Floods, hail, wind gusts and even a tornado prompted calls from the state’s congressional delegation for a federal disaster declaration that would bring additional resources to communities as floodwaters begin to recede.

A National Weather Service database recorded nearly 50 major weather events across the state since Friday, including 15 flash floods, 10 hail storms, 10 floods and seven severe thunderstorm-related wind gusts. 

The severe weather over the weekend included a tornado on a neighborhood street in Santa Fe that NWS officials said damaged 10 homes. The tornado — which NWS officials designated as an EF-1, meaning wind gusts up to 110 mph — broke power poles, uprooted trees and caused at least two roof collapses, according to city officials, though no injuries were reported as of Monday. 

Much of the Navajo Nation, including its eastern edge in New Mexico, was also digging out from heavy floods Monday. The Navajo Nation Police Department shared drone video showing swathes of the Shiprock area underwater and San Juan River water rising to just underneath one of the town’s main bridges. 

Navajo Nation Chief of Staff Sharen Sandoval on Monday said that as many as 500 homes in the Shiprock area were damaged.

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren on Sunday said flooding and power outages continue to affect Shiprock. Nygren predicted in a news conference at 2:30 a.m. Sunday that additional flooding was expected to occur on tribal land in Utah and thanked crews for working around the clock across the vast Navajo Nation.

“Not enough thank yous can go out to our first responders,” he said.