Governor allocates $500,000 for Gallup flood response efforts

Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Friday sending $500,000 to flood response efforts in western New Mexico, with Gallup and other McKinley County communities among the areas hit by heavy monsoon rain. The money is intended for the kind of work residents see first after a storm: sandbags, communications equipment and National Guard support for local and county responders.

Downtown Gallup took the brunt of the flooding last week, and the National Weather Service in Albuquerque measured more than 5 inches of rain in parts of the city since July 16. That amount of water can overwhelm drainage, cut off streets and leave businesses and homes dealing with mud, standing water and damaged access roads long after the rain stops.

McKinley County already has its own Office of Emergency Management, which handles community disaster preparedness and response, and the state funding is meant to reinforce that local effort rather than replace it.

On July 10, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued an Emergency Management Declaration for New Mexico to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas hit by severe storms, flooding and landslides. In Ruidoso, flooding on July 8, 2025, killed three people, and on July 10, 2025, Source New Mexico reported that one person remained missing.

Lujan Grisham has already leaned on executive orders for flood response elsewhere in New Mexico, including up to $250,000 for New Mexico National Guard emergency support and a separate $750,000 order for Doña Ana County flood recovery.