President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for McDowell, Mercer, Mingo and Wyoming counties over severe flooding that swept southern West Virginia roughly two weeks ago.
President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for McDowell, Mercer, Mingo and Wyoming counties over severe flooding that swept southern West Virginia beginning Feb. 15. Announced Wednesday, the declaration opens the region to financial aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
All 55 counties in the state were placed under a state of preparedness Feb. 6 over prior flash flooding, with Cabell and Kanawha counties also placed under a state of emergency.
Roughly one week later, with water levels still high, local officials reported decades-high levels of flooding from another bout of rainfall. On Feb. 15, Morrisey placed 13 counties under another state of emergency over the weather, which opens an area to emergency funds and mobilizes emergency personnel.
Morrisey requested that Trump issue the region a major disaster declaration on Feb. 17. Major disaster declarations make federal relief funds accessible to residents and businesses affected by disaster events, but first requires approval from the president’s office.
“The Major Disaster Declaration will supplement the work being completed on the ground and provide relief to recovering communities in southern West Virginia,” Morrisey said in a press release Wednesday evening.
Resources made available to the region by the federal major disaster declaration include FEMA’s Individual Assistance program and Hazard Mitigation Grant program, which provide financial aid to individual residents and public infrastructure, respectively.
For more information on how to apply for disaster aid, visit the FEMA website. For more information on Wednesday’s major disaster declaration, visit the FEMA webpage for the declaration.
The governor has placed Cabell and Kanawha counties under a state of emergency due to severe weather conditions that began Wednesday.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey placed all 55 West Virginia counties under a state of preparedness Wednesday, eyeing National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts of flash flooding, strong winds and freezing rains.
But the governor’s office announced Thursday that fallout from the storms warranted a more significant emergency preparedness declaration for the two southern West Virginia counties.
During a press briefing Thursday, Morrisey said his office would watch weather conditions throughout the state to determine whether additional support was needed on the local level.
“We’re prepared to do whatever it takes to help local counties address the immediate needs of the storm,” he said.
In his emergency declaration later that day, Morrisey cited “downed trees, power outages and road blockages” in Cabell and Kanawha counties that could pose a risk to residents.
“The effects of the storm pose a severe and continuing threat to the health, safety, welfare and property of the citizens of Cabell and Kanawha counties,” the declaration read.
Morrisey said Thursday afternoon that 18 counties had reported damages “from ice and storms,” and that schools were forced to close in Clay, Lincoln, Mason, Nicholas, Putnam and Wayne counties.
A state of emergency declaration expands the governor’s ability to make financial decisions and mobilize personnel in response to an emergency, including the usage of the Governor’s Civil Contingent Fund, a reserve of funds set aside by the West Virginia Legislature that can be used at the governor’s discretion.
Under a state of preparedness, the state similarly prepares emergency response resources to respond to immediate needs, but the governor’s decision-making authority is more restricted.
Morrisey said state agencies are actively working to address emergency needs within Cabell and Kanawha counties and beyond. He said Thursday that crews from the West Virginia Department of Highways are “clearing debris” and “monitoring the flood risks to ensure travel routes remain safe.”
The West Virginia Emergency Management Division is also “working in close coordination with local emergency managers and first responders to engage in the ongoing response,” he said.
In a press release regarding the emergency declaration Thursday, the governor’s office did not note when the status would expire.
“The state of emergency will remain in effect for thirty days unless terminated by the governor,” the press release read.
In the meantime, the governor’s office urged residents to visit the NWS website for their region of residence for up-to-date weather information. Residents can find more information on their regions at the following links:
Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a state of preparedness declaration on Wednesday in response to winter weather and flash flooding.
As flooding and winter storm concerns continue to affect residents across the Mountain State, the governor has placed all 55 counties under a state of preparedness.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared the state of preparedness Wednesday evening. He cited National Weather Service (NWS) reports that a “significant winter storm” was anticipated to bring strong winds and freezing rains to West Virginia, with localized flooding in some regions of the state.
The state of preparedness will remain in effect through Friday, Feb. 7, according to a Wednesday press release from the governor’s office.
Runoff floods portions of U.S. Route 119 in Kanawha County on Thursday morning, causing traffic to build up.
Photo Credit: Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
This marks Morrisey’s first state of preparedness declaration since he took office Jan. 13. As governor, Morrisey is responsible for invoking emergency preparedness declarations to make the public aware of adverse weather conditions and prepare emergency response personnel and resources.
For more information on local weather trends, Morrisey’s office recommended that residents visit the NWS website. Visit the following links for weather updates in your region:
Curtis Tate spoke with Tom Pratt, a U.S. Geological Survey research geophysicist, about seismic activity in the region.
Earthquakes are relatively infrequent in West Virginia, but one on Monday was strong enough to be felt in the Huntington area. Curtis Tate spoke with Tom Pratt, a U.S. Geological Survey research geophysicist, about seismic activity in the region.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tate: Why aren’t earthquakes stronger or more frequent in West Virginia?
Pratt: Well, the Eastern U.S. is not near a plate boundary. The nearest plate boundary is the mid-ocean ridge in the middle of the Atlantic or the Pacific Plate way on the other side of the continent. So it’s kind of a mystery why we have earthquakes at all in the Eastern U.S. And there’s a lot of speculation about why that might be, but there are a fair number of earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone along the Tennessee Missouri border, in the bootheel of Missouri. That’s a very active zone.
There’s a fair amount in the southern Appalachians, the East Tennessee seismic zone. We have a bunch in central Virginia, the central Virginia seismic zone. There’s a bunch down by Charleston, South Carolina, including a magnitude seven in 1886, so they happen occasionally around here. There’s a scattering of them around the New England area. So, West Virginia. I don’t know. I haven’t run into one in West Virginia yet, but so it’s, you know, this is a little unusual, but it’s not surprising. You can get one there.
Tate: I was in Washington, D.C., during the central Virginia earthquake in 2011. We definitely felt it there, but apparently people felt it in West Virginia. Why?
Pratt: Because earthquake energy in the Eastern U.S. gets transmitted a lot more efficiently than in the West. So the same size earthquake is felt much further away in the Eastern U.S. than it is in the Western U.S. So if you took a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in, like, the Bay Area in San Francisco, it’s only felt for a couple 100 kilometers in every direction, whereas the Virginia earthquake was felt for 1,000 kilometers each direction.
Tate: How likely is it that a big quake would strike in Appalachia?
Pratt: Well, you know, the eastern Tennessee seismic zone. There’s no fundamental reason we couldn’t have a magnitude seven down there. That’s got ongoing seismicity. There’s very little seismicity in West Virginia, so you’re in kind of a little bubble there with very little seismicity. But you know, sometimes these things surprise you. Actually, a better example, there was a 5.1 earthquake in Sparta in North Carolina in 2020 that was completely out of the blue. There was no seismicity there before that. I mean, it was just a void of seismicity. And then all of a sudden, a 5.1 hit, and it destroyed a whole lot of houses and stuff here.
Pratt: We put every earthquake we detect on those on that map. And so it depends on how many seismic stations are in the immediate area. If you have an earthquake that’s right next to a seismic station and a couple more feel it, it’ll show up there. If you have an earthquake where the nearest seismic station is 50-80 kilometers away, it might not get detected at all. So it has a lot to do with the distribution of stations, as to how small we can detect. In general, though, we can detect pretty much anything in the Eastern U.S., magnitude 2.2 and above.
Tate: What should people know about preparing for earthquakes?
Pratt: We always like to emphasize that this is a reminder that earthquakes can occur, and do some emergency preparedness stuff, make sure you got food and water. That works not just for earthquakes, but it works for tornadoes and hurricanes and floods and other disasters. It’s always good to have some emergency supplies on hand. And then the other thing we like to emphasize if you do feel an earthquake is drop cover and hold, if you’re familiar with that.
Tate: Is that like, get under your desk, like I did in 2011?
Pratt: Yeah. Because earthquakes don’t kill people. They just shake the ground. What kills people is falling objects. Man-made things kill people, and rock falls, so the main thing to watch out for is stuff falling on top of you, and the best way to prevent that is get underneath the desk or something. And that’s why we tell you not to run outdoors for two reasons. First of all, if you start running toward the door and the ground is shaking, you might not be able to run straight. You’ll crash into things, you might trip and hurt yourself that way. And the other thing is, once you run out the door, it may be raining bricks from the upper floors, if you’re in a brick building.
On this West Virginia Week, Jim Justice, the state’s two-term Republican governor, won a decisive victory in the race for the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s general election. Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia’s three-term attorney general, won the governorship, continuing a conservative shift in state leadership.
Meanwhile, parts of West Virginia have been experiencing drought conditions, with the Department of Forestry fighting 82 wildfires in the southern coalfields this week. Also, West Virginians can apply for assistance covering home heating costs for the upcoming winter months.
Emily Rice is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.
West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Caelan Bailey, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, Maria Young and Randy Yohe.
The devastation of Hurricane Helene has led emergency response officials and advocates in Morgan County to bolster emergency preparedness efforts for the public.
Damage from the cyclone was less pronounced in West Virginia. But it still reminded some emergency response officials that natural disasters require proactive preparation, because they can occur without much warning for residents.
“Take the emergency situations that happened in North Carolina and Tennessee. Their systems, they weren’t there anymore. Towers blew down. Towns washed away,” said Jason Hoover, director of the Morgan County Office of Emergency Services, Sunday afternoon. “We’re talking about 350 miles and that could have been us.”
Hoover addressed the hurricane at a local firehall in Berkeley Springs as part of an emergency preparedness seminar for Morgan County residents.
The event was hosted by Hoover’s office and the Morgan County Emergency Communications Network (MCECN).
A nonprofit, the MCECN was founded in 2020 by amateur radio operators in Morgan County. It aims to provide an independent communication network as a backup for government-run communication services during emergencies, according to MCECN President John Petersen.
More than 300 residents attended the event in person or joined over livestream, according to the MCECN. Local emergency response officials outlined risks the community should prepare for, plans for how to respond to a disaster and current methods of emergency communication.
Hoover said many people look to federal organizations like the Federal Emergency Management Agency for intervention during emergencies, but that responses from national agencies tend to be delayed. That means keeping the local community prepared is crucial, he said.
“Disasters start local, and they end local,” Hoover said. “The only thing we can do as a community is help prepare for that.”
Major disasters like Hurricane Helene are typically so large in scale that they overwhelm local emergency response efforts and the supply chain, preventing people from getting resources, according to Petersen.
Morgan County Emergency Communications Network President John Petersen addresses attendees at an emergency preparedness seminar in Berkeley Springs Sunday.
Photo Credit: Morgan County Emergency Communications Network
Stores can run out of food in a matter of days, and communication networks and internet service can fall soon after, he said.
One way residents can prepare for events like these is creating emergency kits with nonperishable food and water, sheltering supplies, medical and self-defense items, and communications and power resources, Petersen said.
Petersen said families should also develop plans for where they would go during an emergency, and which family member would take on each responsibility.
“Remember the brief they give you at the beginning of the airplane [ride]? They say, if the oxygen masks come down, you take care of yourself first,” he said. “That’s the idea. You’ve got to take care of yourself first. Because, if you haven’t got the capability to deal with this, then you’re not going to be able to help anybody else.”
Morgan County law enforcement, medical and fire response officials also spoke during Sunday’s event, highlighting additional crises the community could face and the role their agencies play in responding to them.
To close, the MCECN walked residents through current emergency communications infrastructure in Morgan County.
They said amateur radio operators play an increasingly important role in strengthening communication resources available during disasters, and explained how amateur radios function for prospective new users.
When cellular service and the internet are down, amateur radio operators “are the last resort,” Petersen said. “The amateur radio community commonly plays a central role in providing communications when there are big disasters.”
Petersen also said that the MCECN and its community partners hope to continue hosting meetings and trainings throughout the year so more people can get involved, and so that the local community continues to think about how to prepare for the unexpected.
For him, preparing for emergencies long term means “you don’t have to be afraid” when disasters do strike.
“You prepare, and you think about alternatives, and you train for it,” Petersen said.
To watch the Morgan County Emergency Communications Network livestream of Sunday’s emergency preparedness seminar, visit the nonprofit’s YouTube page.
