Scurry County extends disaster declaration for earthquake series as officials report rising damage reports

Scurry County commissioners voted to extend an emergency disaster declaration for 30 days on July 22 after officials described an ongoing series of earthquakes and growing reports of property and infrastructure damage.

Unidentified Speaker (S1) introduced the item and said county staff had reported many recent seismic events: "in the last 7 days, 68 earthquakes have occurred, 43 in the last 30 days, 391 in the last year," a count the court heard as it considered extending the declaration. Emergency Management Coordinator Jay Callaway told the court residents should use the county's online reporting system to submit up to 10 photos of damage for validation by county staff and Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).

"This is the system that, we're asking all the residents to report all their damage to," Jay said, describing the portal’s role in collecting initial reports for validation. He told commissioners the counts the court was hearing did not yet reflect TDEM validation and that staff had hit 100 damage reports during the meeting.

County staff reported three public-infrastructure damage submissions so far, including a city waterline break, damage to an intermediate concrete lift tank at the wastewater plant and damage to the health department building. Jay said Kyle had supplied before-and-after photos that indicated those were new, earthquake-related damages.

Commissioners highlighted why the extension was requested. One member told the court that some earthquake-related damage—"hairline crack[s]" in cement lines and other infrastructure—can take two to three weeks to surface, meaning new damage could be discovered after the initial declaration period. The court discussed financial thresholds for assistance during the meeting: Scurry County’s local threshold was stated as $73,000, while the statewide threshold was cited at $53,000,000. Officials noted that reaching the state threshold would open additional assistance programs, such as public assistance (PA) and Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, but said the county is unlikely to meet that statewide total.

The court also discussed insurance implications for residents. Jay said standard homeowners policies often exclude earthquake or settlement damage and that older policies might include coverage. He also said people generally face a waiting period to buy earthquake coverage: "I was just told 30 days from the last one," Jay said, describing the practical limits residents face when seeking private insurance relief.

After discussion, Unidentified Speaker (S4) moved to "extend the emergency declaration for next 30 days," and another member seconded. The court approved the motion by voice vote. Jay reminded the court the initial declaration is seven days and that extensions are granted for 30-day increments and can be terminated by the court at any time.

The court closed the meeting with thanks to staff and an acknowledgement that reporting and validation would continue. No roll-call vote tally was recorded in the transcript; the motion was adopted by voice during the meeting.