Flood Mitigation Gets Boost From Federal Funds

West Virginia will acquire and demolish 11 structures insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. The resulting land will be maintained as open space to permanently reduce the risk of flood damage in the areas.   

The project will be funded by $1.7 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Flood Mitigation Assistance program as part of national flood mitigation efforts. 

West Virginia had three major flood events in 2025 resulting in a dozen deaths. A flood in February 2025 affected 14 counties across the south of the state and resulted in three deaths. Violent flash floods in Ohio and Marion counties in July left nine people dead and partially collapsed an apartment building. 

West Virginia’s funding is part of the $6.7 million for FEMA’s Region 3, which includes Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia: 

• $823,715 to Maryland to elevate two structures above the floodplain to keep the structures and contents from suffering any major damage and reduce the threat to life safety. 

• $150,000 to Pennsylvania to conduct engineering, environmental, feasibility and benefit-cost analyses in Dalton Borough following a severe storm September 2023. 

• $3,794,114 million to Virginia to elevate 13 flood-prone homes above the Base (1-percent-annual-chance) Flood Elevation to reduce the risk of loss of life and property and reduce or eliminate repeat National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims. 

Flash flood events have risen in frequency in West Virginia in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue as global temperatures rise. 

Earlier this year the West Virginia Legislature approved $10 million in funding for the state’s Flood Resiliency Office in the state budget, the first time the office has been funded since its creation.