Agencies visit Curry, Quay to do damage assessments

Personnel from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were in Curry and Quay counties Thursday and Friday doing preliminary damage assessments, according to a DHSEM news release.

“They were doing an assessment to see if the dollar amount of damage would qualify for a federal disaster declaration,” Ruthann Kelly said. Kelly is Clovis/Curry County emergency management specialist.

As of Monday, Kelly said, she did not know the amount of the assessment.

According to the news release, the assessments are following damage from tornadoes, thunderstorms and flooding that happened May 24 through May 26.

Extensive damage was caused to public infrastructure in Quay and Curry counties, including damage to roads, bridges and buildings, the news release stated.

If FEMA determines that damages to public infrastructure exceed the state’s $3.7 million disaster threshold, then the counties will be eligible to have repairs to their public infrastructure reimbursed by FEMA, according to the news release.

An assessment crew will not be visiting Roosevelt County as little if any damage was reported there.

DHSEM expressed gratitude to FEMA for conducting damage assessments in Curry and Quay Counties, according to DHSEM Secretary David Dye, writing int the news release.

“We look forward to working with FEMA to support these communities as they rebuild from the damages they experienced due to the severe weather in May,” Dye wrote in the release.