Clovis residents are dealing with the aftermath of a severe storm that struck the city May 24, causing extensive damage to homes and automobiles.
Golf ball-sized hail, 80-mile-per-hour winds and heavy rain combined to create conditions seldom witnessed in the eastern New Mexico area, according to a May 26 KOAT report.
"Right now, we're still doing the damage assessments here within the city of Clovis," Curry County Emergency Manager Dan Heerding said, according to KOAT. "Clovis got hit with some of the remnants of that storm."
Heerding added the damages inflicted by the storm are being processed. The remnants include overflowing water levels to damaged structures at homes and local schools, KOAT reported.
Clovis City Manager Justin Howalt told KOAT the storm “was definitely a storm that was not normal for us,” adding it has been almost 10 years since the city has seen something as damaging as the storm.
Experienced storm chaser Al Mason was among about 400 other storm chasers who descended on Clovis to analyze the storm, KOAT reported. Mason said he was surprised by the power of the storm, saying it was as dangerous as any he previously experienced.
“I was a little bit taken back,” Mason told KOAT. “The fact that it got wrapped in the rain so quickly, it was just a very, very dangerous situation.”
While local agencies like police and fire assess the damage, residents of the community are their part to clean up the destruction and assist others, according to KOAT.
“It's fantastic to witness the community coming together to start to clean up this debris,” Howalt said, according to KOAT.
Once damages are assessed, requested funds could be more than $150,000, KOAT reported.
The city of Clovis is sending crews to pick up tree limbs and debris at residential properties, according to a city news release. Homeowners are instructed to place all yard waste on the curb to ease access for trucks. Crews are also needed to clear the runways at the Clovis Regional Airport.
The city is reminding residents and business owners to make sure any contractors they hire are licensed through the state and acquire the necessary permits for repairs, the release noted.
