Tag: Federal Disaster

Federal Disaster Assistance Requested For Communities Affected By Summer Floods

From July 12 to Aug. 15, the state received up to 200 percent of its normal precipitation and did not see one 24-hour period without rainfall.

From July 12 to Aug. 15, the state received up to 200 percent of its normal precipitation and did not see one 24-hour period without rainfall. This led to multiple flooding events across the state damaging homes, schools and businesses, washing out roadways, and miles of damaged or destroyed water and sewage lines.

In response, Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday that he has formally requested federal assistance for the damages.

“Due to the damages incurred by these communities in the wake of the wettest summer on record for West Virginia, supplementary federal assistance is necessary to ensure the protection of life, property, public health, and safety, and to avert the threat of further disaster,” Justice said. “I hope that President Biden and FEMA agree and approve our request quickly.”

Typical disaster declarations are specific to a singular flooding event, but the unique nature of the month-long flooding prompted state officials to request a singular flood designation for all the affected areas.

  • On July 14, Justice declared a State of Emergency for McDowell County due to significant flooding that damaged more than 75 homes, approximately a dozen bridges and numerous roads throughout the county. 
  • On July 28, Justice declared a State of Emergency for Fayette, Greenbrier, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming counties after severe thunderstorms, heavy rains and high winds caused significant local flooding, downed trees, power outages, disruption to potable water systems, and road blockages. 
  • On August 15, Justice declared a State of Emergency for Fayette and Kanawha counties due to significant flooding that damaged more than 100 homes, roads and bridges throughout the counties. 

Justice requested that the federal government providePublic Assistance and certainIndividual Assistance programs to support the state’s response. In addition to addressing the damages and impact outlined in this request, West Virginia is managing eight open federally declared disasters.

The granting of a federal disaster declaration is contingent upon FEMA’s review and the President’s authorization. There are no time constraints once the request has been submitted to FEMA.

For more information on the disaster declaration process, please visitHow a Disaster Gets Declared orwww.fema.gov.

Justice Asks Trump to Declare Federal Disaster in W.Va.

Gov. Jim Justice is seeking a federal disaster declaration for a dozen counties in northern West Virginia hit by flooding in late July.

Justice sent a letter to the White House on August 10 requesting the disaster declaration, according to a news release from the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.

Justice outlined a preliminary flood-damage assessment in the letter. 161 homes were destroyed or suffered major damage in four of the twelve counties. Another 557 homes received minor damage.

Justice is requesting both individual and public assistance for Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Ohio, and Wetzel Counties, and public assistance for Doddridge, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker and Tyler Counties.

The letter specifically asks for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individuals and Household Program, crisis counseling, disaster legal services and unemployment assistance, and programs from other agencies like the Small Business Administration and the Federal Highway Administration.

The late-July storm also closed or damaged more than 20 roads in the northern part of the state after at least 3 inches of rain triggered flash floods and mudslides.

West Virginia’s federal congressional delegation also wrote a letter to the president in support of Justice’s request.

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