FEMA announces expanded flood coverage for wildfire survivors

The agency is teaming up with the federal National Flood Insurance Program to encourage residents of the two counties to apply for the insurance for property owners, businesses and renters. The premiums will be paid by the FEMA claims office.

In a place where the appearance of storm clouds or the sound of thunder can set people's hearts beating with anxiety, David Marshall Montoya applauded the news.

Montoya, Mora County's interim county manager, said the insurance coverage and potential payouts could help countless residents dealing with a threat that will last far beyond the four and a half months in 2022 the fire raged through the region.

"Really, what this is evidence of is government actually listening to a community in terms of what it can do," he said in an interview Thursday, shortly after federal officials announced the initiative at a news conference at the agency's Santa Fe claims office on St. Michael's Drive.

"It's going to take time to mitigate a lot of the damage that has been done, and I think everyone in the county has been more than patient over this past year," he said.

Joseph Griego, director of the Mora Head Start program, called the initiative "a great move.

"Everybody should get on it," he said in an interview. "The hope is, we don't get flooded again, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

The wildfire, the largest in New Mexico history, burned more than 341,000 acres in the mountains northwest of Las Vegas, N.M., consuming homes, businesses and livelihoods. It was the result of federally prescribed burns gone awry.

The disaster placed financial, emotional and physical stress on local governments, which had to contend with its effects and ensuing flooding in the summer.

The threat of flooding will continue for years in the burn-scarred areas, Montoya said.

Flooding is "the most common and costly hazard in the nation," said Angela Gladwell, claims office director for FEMA operations in New Mexico, during the news conference.

One inch of rain, she said, can cause "up to $25,000 of damage" to a home.

"It's really important residents protect their homes and businesses with flood insurance," she said.

She said of the roughly 1,500 claims for losses the agency has received from New Mexicans to date, about 400 are flood related.

FEMA claims office navigators — who visit damaged sites and review claims reports by residents — will work with claimants to determine the amount of insurance, Gladwell said. Among other measures, navigators will look at the building type, the square footage of the building and occupancy rates as they review the claim for damage, she said.

The insurance kicks in 30 days after someone signs up for it, so eligible residents should get the process moving as soon as possible, Gladwell said.

David Maurstad, senior executive of the National Flood Insurance Program, also urged New Mexicans to move quickly to take advantage of the offer, particularly since floods are more likely to destroy or damage someone's home or business than fires, he said. He cited national data showing just 4% of homeowners nationwide have flood insurance even though 90% of catastrophes in the U.S. involve flooding.

"Everybody needs flood insurance," he said during the news conference, adding people are "more likely to have flood than fire" threats.

Gladwell said anyone living in Mora or San Miguel counties is automatically eligible for the insurance. Anyone impacted by the fire who lives in another county in the region will be considered for insurance on a "case-by-case" basis.

She said once someone is approved for the insurance and any payouts, they will be signed up for a year of insurance with a follow-up process that will potentially extend it for another four years.

Montoya said that is good because "this disaster is not a one-time occurrence that a human normally prepares for. It's going to reassert itself over and over again."

The fire put affected communities on edge, he said.

But with the monsoon approaching, he added, comes more fear.

"You're lying in bed at night, and you hear thunder and a flood alarm — it brings all those memories back," he said.

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