Doña Ana County Commissioners approved a Disaster Declaration following severe flooding throughout the county.
The declaration allows the county to request a state declaration which paves the way for financial assistance and reimbursement from the state.
Doña Ana County Emergency Manager, Amanda Bowen, said the county sustained about $17 million in infrastructure damage including in jurisdictions like the Elephant Butte Irrigation District. She explains how the move would help.
"It gives us some operational flexibility as well to use emergency funds that we may not have access to otherwise. Go through an emergency procurement process and do things like waive fees for residents as they're trying to rebuild," Bowen said.
County Commissioners unanimously approved the resolution during a special meeting Tuesday morning.
"This gives us one place to be able to go and push out resources in ways that if we don't know that the residents are impacted, we can't do," Bowen said.
The county is asking for residents to be as detailed as possible when filling out the form and to submit photos. Residents can report damages to property or businesses on the county's damage assessment portal through donaana.gov/DamageAssessment.
