SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
FEMA approves new disaster recovery grant for Roswell
Federal aid will assist with fire vehicles lost in 2024 flood
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The city of Roswell has been approved for a $2.6 million federal public assistance grant to repair or replace fire department equipment damaged by disastrous flooding in 2024.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Friday a total of $489.1 million in aid to Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas combining COVID-19 and disaster recovery funds.
The aid extended to Roswell is in response to historic rainfall in Chaves County in October 2024, when a fell on Roswell in a single day. The city sits on the Spring River, which flooded, sweeping up cars and overwhelming roads and bridges. Over 300 people, many stranded on rooftops, were rescued by the New Mexico National Guard and two people were reported killed.
Weeks ago, FEMA announced a separate grant of $6.6 million to demolish and relocate the Roswell Adult Center, which was damaged in the storm. The project is expected to cost nearly $9 million.
The latest public assistance grants responded to events dating as far back as 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 emergency, with $148.5 million approved for the Texas Department of State Health Services for management costs amid the pandemic. The awards passed through a review process by a new fraud task force ordered by President Donald Trump in an executive order in March.
鈥淲e are grateful for this assistance from FEMA,鈥� Roswell City Manager Hess Yntema told the Journal, saying the grant would cover 75% of the cost of repairing or replacing the emergency vehicles, with the city covering the remainder.
Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
