The Gallup City Cemetery suffered damage from the July 24th downpour.
Assistant City Manager Jon DeYoung told the Gallup Sun that 100 graves were damaged by flooding. One-hundred of them caved in.
DeYoung said the repairs will include adding more dirt to fill in the sites. He estimated that the repairs would be completed in the next few weeks.
City of Gallup Parks Director Vincent Alonzo went into more detail about what it takes to recover graves after the storm.
“Right now I have a crew out there — What they’re doing is, wherever it’s sunk in, they’re having to refill and make new grave mounds,” he said. “Wherever the headstones have sunk we’re having to lift them out and refit them.”
Alonzo has four men working at the cemetery. He estimated that the cost of labor to restore the memorial ground would be around $10,000. He added that the cost is something the Parks and Recreation Department can handle.
Alonzo mentioned that some people have come out to the cemetery and refilled their loved ones’ graves themselves.
