Sierra County and Navajo Nation Added to NM Disaster Declaration

SANTA FE – State and federal officials announced today that Sierra County and the Navajo Nation have been added to the disaster declaration signed by President Barack Obama on September 30, 2013. Sierra County and the Navajo Nation are now eligible to apply for reimbursements under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program.

The grants are obligated to the state to reimburse eligible applicants for expenses incurred while taking emergency measures to protect lives and property; cleaning up downed trees, power poles and other debris; and repairing public infrastructure, including roads, bridges and public utilities. Under a cost-sharing formula, FEMA reimburses the state for 75 percent of the total costs, while the state and/or applicant pay the remaining 25 percent.

“Adding Sierra County and the Navajo Nation to the disaster declaration means assistance is now available to help with eligible costs for repairs,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Nancy Casper.

Although the program is oriented to public entities, certain nonprofit organizations may qualify for FEMA assistance to make infrastructure repairs if they provide critical services, such as fire and emergency rescue; medical treatment; power, water and sewer resources and communications systems.

Damage assessments are underway in counties that are not covered by this declaration, and additional counties may be added at a later date. Officials in other counties who have questions about the assessments should contact Brian Williams at 505-476-9601.

The counties and pueblos previously included in the declaration are: Bernalillo, Colfax, Luna, Sandoval, and Socorro counties and the Cochiti, Kewa (Santa Domingo), San Felipe, and Sandia Pueblos. These counties and pueblos were affected by the severe storms and flooding of July 23-28, 2013.

Details of the PA program are on FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/index.shtm.

More information on New Mexico disaster recovery is available online at www.nmdhsem.org/

The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) is the state’s homeland security and emergency management agency. The agency works to identify and lessen the effects of emergencies, disasters and threats to New Mexico by developing effective prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery actions for all disasters and emergencies.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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