In September 2025, historic floodwaters struck the towns of Globe and Miami, Arizona, killing three people and causing nearly $100 million in damage. Almost 10 months later, FEMA has denied the state of Arizona’s appeal for a federal disaster declaration.
Al Gameros, Mayor of Globe, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the situation.
Gameros explains that the town’s initial request for support was denied; however, the denial came before the town could submit their final request. Governor Hobbs then stepped in to file an appeal, leading to FEMA to work with Globe for several months.
“FEMA has visited our community. We have walked the creeks with them, three different times. The Army Corps of Engineers came in,” Gameros said. “There was so much requirements, so much paperwork that they required and we satisfied all that.”
According to FEMA’s determination cited by the city of Globe, flooding was “not of such severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration.” Local officials said the decision leaves them with only about $10 million in state funding for flood prevention and recovery, far short of the roughly $130 million needed.
To Gameros, this decision insinuates that local and state resources are sufficient enough to aid the damages caused by the flooding.
Globe has still been awarded some federal funding through the NRCS, amounting to $24 million. With that money their first priority to repair the community is to remove settlement from their waterways. So far, at 90% completion, they have been able to remove about 50,000 cubic yards of dirt out of their creeks. According to Gameros, the town is in prevention mode.
“We’re trying to prevent the water from overcoming our waterways by removing the settlement,” Gameros said. “Our next step is repair of our sewer lines. Our sewer lines are ruining all our waterway and we have damage and those are in the amount around $36 million.”
According to Gameros, Globe has received significant support from state, but a considerable amount of work still lies ahead.
