Zuni Tribe’s Request for Major Disaster Declaration Approved for July Storms and Flash Flooding Following Letter from N.M. Congressional Delegation

WASHINGTON - This week, the Zuni Tribe's request for a Major Disaster Declaration was approved to support recovery efforts following severe storms and flash flooding that occurred between July 16 and 28, 2026. The Major Disaster Declaration was granted on October 7 by President Donald Trump, immediately following a letter sent October 6 from U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) calling on the President to approve the Major Disaster Declaration request.

The Zuni Tribe is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America, serving as a steward of a nationally significant historic, cultural, and religious landscape. The storms and flash flooding caused extensive damage to seven ceremonial trails and multiple culturally significant locations, affecting the ancestral, ceremonial, and historic resources central to the Tribe's cultural heritage, along with damage to public infrastructure and private property. This declaration designated the Pueblo of Zuni for both Individual Assistance and all categories of Public Assistance. Federal funding will help ensure that those historic sites and public infrastructure can be repaired and that impacted families can recover from these devastating floods.

In a letter sent to President Trump on October 6, 2026, New Mexico's Congressional Delegation wrote, "We respectfully request that you take immediate action on the Zuni Tribe's recent request for a major disaster declaration in response to severe storms that triggered significant flash flooding and caused extensive damage in the Pueblo of Zuni between July 16, 2026, to July 28, 2026. The severity and magnitude of the storms and subsequent flash flooding overwhelmed Zuni Tribal resources, and they require supplemental, Federal assistance to ensure the Tribal Nation can recover."

The lawmakers continued, "Three thunderstorm events on July 16, 21, and 28, 2026, in the Zuni Pueblo area produced heavy rainfall, with National Weather Service (NWS) radar and local rain gauge data indicating it was a 100-year flood event. This rainfall overtopped levees, riverbanks, and earthen dams, flooding paved roads and Zuni Village itself, and caused significant damage to private property, community infrastructure, ceremonial trails, and culturally significant sites. Sixty-one families were displaced, twelve families required sheltering, and four individuals required swift water rescue; six families are still in shelters."

"In totality, the impacts from these floods will require federal assistance, as they have exceeded the capabilities of the Zuni Tribe," the lawmakers concluded. "We fully support the Zuni Tribe's request, and we urge you to act without delay. It is imperative that the federal government provides full support to the Zuni Tribe to recover from the devastation caused by this flooding."

Read the full text of the lawmaker's letter here and below:

Dear President Trump,

We respectfully request that you take immediate action on the Zuni Tribe's recent request for a major disaster declaration in response to severe storms that triggered significant flash flooding and caused extensive damage in the Pueblo of Zuni between July 16, 2026, to July 28, 2026. The severity and magnitude of the storms and subsequent flash flooding overwhelmed Zuni Tribal resources, and they require supplemental, Federal assistance to ensure the Tribal Nation can recover.

The Zuni Tribe is requesting Public Assistance (PA), Categories A through G, as well as Individual Assistance (IA), including Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance, Disaster Case Management, and Individuals and Households Program Assistance, and statewide assistance from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. We ask that you expeditiously grant the declaration and make this federal assistance available as soon as possible.

Three thunderstorm events on July 16, 21, and 28, 2026, in the Zuni Pueblo area produced heavy rainfall, with National Weather Service (NWS) radar and local rain gauge data indicating it was a 100-year flood event. This rainfall overtopped levees, riverbanks, and earthen dams, flooding paved roads and Zuni Village itself, and caused significant damage to private property, community infrastructure, ceremonial trails, and culturally significant sites. Sixty-one families were displaced, twelve families required sheltering, and four individuals required swift water rescue; six families are still in shelters.

The Zuni Tribe is a federally recognized sovereign Tribal Nation and one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America. The Zuni Tribe serves as a steward of a nationally significant historic, cultural, and religious landscape. And in addition to extensive damage to public infrastructure and private property, the flash floods described above also severely impacted seven ceremonial trails and multiple culturally significant locations. Washouts, erosion, and material loss to those paths and sacred ruins - some dating back to the early 1500s - have affected the ancestral, ceremonial, and historic resources central to the Tribe's cultural heritage. Restoration work will need to be performed using culturally appropriate methods, require specialized preservation oversight, and preserve the confidentiality of these sites.

In the wake of the flash flooding, the Zuni Tribe requested federal assistance with a Preliminary Damage Assessment, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff and Zuni staff conducted site visits throughout the entire reservation. As of September 25, 2026, FEMA's estimate for the assessed damage was $1,222,135. The severity and extent of the flooding required tribal resources to be diverted to emergency protective measures and hazardous debris removal. Recovery will require repairs to roadways and drainage systems, utility restoration, support for displaced families, and culturally appropriate preservation work. In totality, the impacts from these floods will require federal assistance, as they have exceeded the capabilities of the Zuni Tribe.

We fully support the Zuni Tribe's request, and we urge you to act without delay. It is imperative that the federal government provides full support to the Zuni Tribe to recover from the devastation caused by this flooding.

Thank you for your consideration of this important request.

Sincerely,

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