County asks flood-hit residents to report damage online

Montezuma County is asking anyone whose property was damaged by the recent flooding to report it through an online form.

The county’s Office of Emergency Management has opened a Crisis Track Survivors Portal for the county, at crisistrack.juvare.com. The notice says the tool “allows residents to report property damage and immediate unmet needs resulting from the flooding,” and that “your information will help officials assess the extent of the damage and better understand the needs of our community.”

The notice is explicit about one thing the portal is not: “This portal is for reporting damage and needs. It is not an application for financial assistance.”

The request was published on the Town of Mancos’s website on Sunday, under the heading “Montezuma County Flood Damage Reporting Link,” and is signed by Emergency Management. The county’s own news page had not posted it as of Sunday evening, and the county’s Facebook page was returning only its newest post, so the town’s notice is the only published version the Current could find.

What the county says it is for

The notice gives one purpose for the portal and no others: assessing how much damage there was and what people still need. It does not say what the county will do with the figures, whether a deadline applies, or when the portal closes.

The flooding ran through late October and the first days of November. In Mancos, the town’s own after-action report concluded the water topped the 1937 record. The Dolores River went over flood stage on Nov. 1 and two areas were evacuated. Floodwater overtopped the Mancos wastewater lagoons, and the state has since required a boil-water advisory for the whole Town of Mancos water system, which was still in force on Sunday. On the highways, the Federal Highway Administration has approved $65 million to start repairs in southwest Colorado.

Where to get help

Because the portal is not an aid application, people who need help now have to look elsewhere. Mancos has pointed flood-hit residents to the Pay It Forward Fund and to the Mancos food share. Montezuma County Public Health has published flood safety guidance on floodwater contact, wells, food and mold.

The notice gives no phone number and no closing date. The county’s Office of Emergency Management page is at montezumacounty.gov, and the Town of Mancos posts its notices at mancoscolorado.com.