Storm damages well into millions

Jun. 3—Placing a dollar damage on the storms that hit across eastern New Mexico late last month is a guess at best. But that number is well into the tens of millions.

Clovis Mayor and insurance agent Mike Morris broke down the numbers.

"First look at the auto damage," he wrote in a text message. "The average paint-less dent repair of hail damage is around $5,000.

"If you look at the loss to property owners and homeowners ... It's not uncommon to see a roofing material replacement run $30,000 to $40,000 on a house.

"There's likely $50 million in automobile damage and $100 million in property damage in Clovis," Morris wrote.

Morris compared the May 24 storm to the tornado of March 2007 that killed two people.

"The severity per claim isn't as great with this as the '07 tornado where we saw homes completely demolished. But the number of people dealing with at least some amount of damage is much higher," Morris wrote.

Morris based his estimate on reports from his customers "all over town."

On the plus side of all the water, area lake levels are higher than they've been in years.

"Ute Reservoir has added 44,900 acre feet since (May 24). That's over two-and-a- half years' worth of (local water authority) maximum allocation in a matter of days," Morris said. "There's water standing in every playa in the area. There's even water behind the dam at Ned Houk (north of Clovis)."

Dan Heerding, Clovis' director of emergency management, has also been wowed by the impact of the storms.

"You know that playa you can see off the north side of SR 523 on your way out to the airport? That has so much water in it it's almost up to the road," he said on Wednesday.

Heerding said reports of damage are still coming in from the county and city.

"A section of CR 17 is closed where there was a large washout. There's been a lot of roof damage, a lot of hail damage to the vehicle fleets of the city and county, lots of organic debris was blown around, and there was some flooding damage from a second storm that hit Grady, widespread high water," he said.

Heerding said officials late last week were still waiting on the arrival of insurance adjusters for city property damage.

Morris and other local officials encouraged residents to use caution when hiring contractors for repairs.

"I've asked the city to make sure roofers have all the correct credentials and that they're pulling permits. I hope Clovis residents will use local roofers," Morris said.

Pete Wilt, Clovis' building safety director, said residents should "make sure your roofing contractor is licensed through the state of New Mexico."

Wilt said if contractors are not licensed, that means they have not passed the state licensing qualifications to be a contractor "or they may be fly by night."

"They have to get a permit from building safety to do the roofing job and to get a permit they have to have a state license," Wilt said.

Wilt said there can be problems for homeowners if they have their work done by a contractor who is not properly credentialed.

"If they have work done without a permit then the insurance company can come by and not approve their roof for a job the next time they make a claim," he said. "With an unlicensed contractor a complaint can't be filed against that person."

Wilt said if there's a problem with a repair "that unlicensed contractor is not going to come back and repair it for you."

Glass repairs, whether home or vehicle, also should be handled by professionals, Wilt said.

Again, he urged residents to use local, licensed businesses.

"Make sure they have a current city business registration. If not, that means they're not paying taxes on anything, and if they don't have a city registration they're probably not a reputable company," Wilt said.