BRAWLEY — After much discussion the city of Brawley declared a state of local emergency during a special meeting here Tuesday evening.
The proclamation came after swarms of earthquakes struck Brawley several times Sunday causing significant damages. The largest to strike the region was a 5.5-magnitude quake rumbling around 2 p.m.
These series of quakes caused several residents to be displaced, water lines to break and property damage to be apparent throughout the city, including damage to Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District and National Beef, according to the city’s local emergency report.
In overall damages, supply cost and employee overtime expenses, the impact cost of the earthquakes for the city as of Tuesday evening was $10,000, Brawley City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore said.
“That figure is not including local businesses’ impact from the earthquake,” Moore clarified.
The city will try to gain an estimate of the total economic injuries sustained by local businesses throughout the week so a more complete summary may be offered. The summary will be provided to Gov. Jerry Brown’s office in the city’s request for the state to proclaim Brawley to be in a state of emergency, Moore explained.
The state recognizes cities to be in a state of emergency when it expresses extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a county, city and county, or city, caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, earthquake and other conditions that are within the control of services, according to the city’s resolution report.
With the hope of restoring residents and local businesses back to normal, the city is asking local businesses to fill out what is known as an estimated disaster economic injury worksheet for businesses, which will help the city to determine the total economic cost from the recent earthquakes.
Businesses may submit their financial impacts from the earthquakes to the city by contacting 760-351-3048.
Staff writer Celeste Alvarez can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at calvarez@ivpressonline.com
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