N.M. Congressional Delegation Calls on President Biden to Grant State’s Major Disaster Declaration Request in Response to Floods in Roswell and Chaves County

ROSWELL, N.M. - After record rainfall and destructive floods in Roswell and Chaves County, N.M. over the weekend of Oct. 19, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) are calling on President Joe Biden to approve a Major Disaster Declaration request from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

In a letter to President Biden, New Mexico's Congressional Delegation wrote: "We respectfully request that you [President Biden] take immediate action on the recent request for a major disaster declaration from the State of New Mexico in response to the unprecedented flooding that occurred in Chaves County starting on October 19, 2024."

The lawmakers added, "Due to the life and death nature of this crisis, we urge you to act without delay and approve the State of New Mexico's request for a major disaster declaration. It is imperative that the federal government provides full support to New Mexican communities to respond and recover from the devastation caused by this flooding. Thank you for your consideration of this important request."

A Major Disaster Declaration would open up access to Public Assistance and Individual Assistance funds from Federal Emergency Response Agency (FEMA) and disaster loans from the Small Business Administration. Public Assistance supports the restoration and reconstruction of public infrastructure and lands. Individual Assistance supports families from losses suffered due to the floods.

The New Mexico Delegation is committed to passing legislation to allocate emergency, supplemental disaster funding to replenish the disaster relief fund at FEMA, the disaster assistance loan program at the Small Business Administration (SBA), and other agency emergency programs that provide resources to help communities hit by devastating disasters recover and rebuild.

Read the full text of the letter below or by clicking here.

Dear President Biden,

We respectfully request that you take immediate action on the recent request for a major disaster declaration from the State of New Mexico in response to the unprecedented flooding that occurred in Chaves County on October 19, 2024. The State is requesting Public Assistance, Categories A through G, including Direct Federal Assistance, and Individual Assistance for Chaves County. The State is requesting all parts of Individual Assistance, including Mass Care/Emergency Assistance, Individuals and Households Program, Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance, Disaster Case Management, Crisis Counseling, Disaster Legal Services, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Serious Needs Assistance, Transitional Sheltering Assistance, and Displacement Assistance. The State is also requesting Hazard Mitigation statewide, as facilitated through the state of New Mexico's Natural Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan, which has been approved by FEMA through September 12, 2027. We ask that you expeditiously grant the major disaster declaration and make this federal assistance available as soon as possible for the State and Chaves County to have all the resources they need to recover from the devastation of this flooding.

From October 18 to 21, 2024, a slow-moving low-pressure system became stationary over Chaves County and struck the area with 5.79 inches of rain - half a year's worth of precipitation in just one event - devastating the city of Roswell and multiple downstream communities with severe flash flooding. The rapid onset of severe weather gave residents only minutes to evacuate their homes, and more than 300 people required rescue from the floods by active responders, including the New Mexico National Guard, which activated the night of October 19, 2024.

This flooding has caused extensive damage to public infrastructure, homes, and businesses throughout Chaves County. The joint FEMA and state initial damage assessment has calculated that as many as 723 homes and 200 businesses have could have been damaged as a result of the flooding. Additionally, the flooding caused dozens of vehicles to wash out into bridges, crippled local governments' response capacity due to the loss of multiple vehicles and IT equipment, and the flood water itself filled more than thirty-two public buildings. The current assessed damage from these public facility impacts is $51.9 million.

Due to the life and death nature of this crisis, we urge you to act without delay and approve the State of New Mexico's request for a major disaster declaration. It is imperative that the federal government provides full support to New Mexican communities to respond and recover from the devastation caused by this flooding. Thank you for your consideration of this important request.

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