Tag: June 2016 Flood

2 More Officials Out in West Virginia Disaster Housing Rift

Two more officials involved in an embattled housing program aimed at helping West Virginia flood victims are out of their jobs.

 
Mary Jo Thompson and Russell Tarry of the West Virginia Development Office were scheduled to speak Tuesday at an interim legislative committee meeting on the deadly 2016 floods but lawmakers were told they resigned on Friday.

 
Tarry was the office’s deputy director and Thompson was director of community advancement and development.

 
Gov. Jim Justice forced out state Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher earlier this month and Deputy Commerce Secretary Josh Jarrell was fired after complaints about poor management and residents receiving no help from RISE West Virginia, a $150 million housing assistance program.

 
The Commerce Department was put in charge of the program in 2016 by then-Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

Generators Awarded to Plants in 9 West Virginia Counties

Gov. Jim Justice says more than $6.6 million in grants will provide backup power generators for water and wastewater treatment plants and systems in nine West Virginia counties.

Justice announced the funds Thursday in response to the 2016 floods that killed 23 people statewide and ravaged homes, businesses, schools and infrastructure.

Justice says the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management worked with communities and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on project applications for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

The grants will fund projects in Cabell, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, McDowell, Mingo, Nicholas, Tyler and Wyoming counties. In addition, $3 million will be used for a statewide risk assessment that can pinpoint locations in flood plains or those exposed to potential flooding, landslides and other hazards.

W.Va. Lawmakers Hear Disaster Response Tips

One of the first presentations West Virginia lawmakers heard after gaveling in for the 2018 state Legislative session was one to help them more effectively guide their districts in the face of emergencies.

Since 2009, there have been 21 state emergency proclamations, 10 Federal Emergency Management Agency major disaster declarations, and 4 FEMA emergency declarations – that’s according to Jimmy Gianato, Director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Both Gianato and Major General James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard spoke with lawmakers about the best steps to take to ensure proper aid is sent efficiently when disasters occur.

Hoyer told lawmakers it’s important to first communicate with their local Emergency Operations Center.

“If you can continue to encourage people at your level in your districts, to flow their requests up through the local EOC,” Hoyer said, “it significantly helps us in managing that overarching piece by flowing things to the right focus points for us to get to.”

Those focus points could include coordinating additional aid or supplies, volunteer groups, or reaching out to FEMA if a situation is bad enough.

“The quicker we can document damage and push it up to FEMA, the sooner we can get a declaration, which means, the flow of federal money comes faster.”

Hoyer and Gianato said, however, districts should be prepared enough to go up to 72 hours before additional aid is sent.

West Virginia Families Impacted by 2016 Floods Get New Homes

Several families impacted by flooding last year in West Virginia have received new homes.

WVVA-TV reports the Rainelle residents were handed keys to their homes on Monday. The homes have 8-foot (2-meter) support beams should severe weather come again.

The work was done by Appalachia Service Project, a Christian ministry focused on home repair and replacement in central parts of the region. The organization has built more than 50 homes for those who lost theirs in the 2016 flood.

Darlenia Killen says she lived more than a year in a single bedroom apartment and Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer. She walked into her new home saying, “I could not be more appreciative, I’m afraid I might cry.”

The families also received Thanksgiving baskets with turkeys.

West Virginia Fish Hatcher Gets Federal Funds for Repairs

The White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery set to receive $213,000 in federal funds to repair damage from last year’s flooding.

West Virginia’s U.S. senators say the money from the Department of Transportation will be used to repair damage done to trails and other infrastructure by the June 2016 floods.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito says the hatchery had significant damage and she worked on securing funding so it could reopen.

Sen. Joe Manchin, like Capito a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the White Sulphur Springs hatchery has helped keep rivers stocked with fish for more than 100 years.

Hatcher officials say it sustained more than $1.5 million in damages from the floodwaters of Wade’s Creek.

Federal Funds Awarded to Help Flood Damaged Roads

Almost $5 million in federal funding has been awarded to some of the counties ravaged by floods in 2016.

Pocahontas, Randolph and Greenbrier Counties will receive more than $4.8 million to help repair federal roads from the United States Department of Transportation.

Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito made the announcement in a joint news release.

Manchin says the repairs will help bring back community connections and allow commerce to flow freely across the state. Capito notes the funds will also help restore roads used to get to work and home.

In June 2016, heavy rain fell over West Virginia, overwhelming many communities in the southern part of the state. It has been called the worst flood in West Virginia’s history. Former Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced a state of emergency for 44 of the state’s 55 counties, and 23 people died.

Exit mobile version