City’s Costs From Albuquerque Storm Put at $1M

An Albuquerque, N.M., official says a storm that battered the city Friday night could end up costing the city $1 million.

The rain and wind storm downed trees in parks and other areas of the city while causing tens of thousands of customers to lose electric power.

Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry says the preliminary estimate approaching $1 million for the city’s costs includes overtime for storm-related work.

That includes police directing traffic at intersections with knocked-out signals and other workers repairing those signals and clearing roads and removing tree limbs and other debris from parks.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that city workers also helped people who reply on electricity-powered medical services such as battery-powered oxygen tanks.

Perry says the city has money budgeted for events like major storms.