CHARLESTON, W.Va. (The Hinton News) – Governor Patrick Morrisey announced that President Donald J. Trump has approved additional federal disaster assistance for West Virginia communities affected by severe storms and flooding this summer.
“I want to thank President Trump and his administration for approving this assistance and continuing to stand with West Virginia as our communities recover,” said Governor Morrisey. “Our local emergency managers, first responders and volunteers worked alongside the state and FEMA to document the damage and make the case for this assistance. We will keep working to get resources where they are needed and help these communities rebuild.”
President Trump approved Public Assistance for Barbour, Doddridge, Lewis, Pendleton, Pleasants, Randolph, Ritchie, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur and Wetzel counties following the severe storms, flooding and landslides that began July 21. Public Assistance provides federal funding on a cost-share basis for emergency work, debris removal and the repair or replacement of damaged public infrastructure, including roads and utilities. Individual Assistance was previously approved for Lewis, Pleasants, Ritchie and Upshur counties following the July storms.
The President also approved Individual Assistance for Fayette, Harrison and Kanawha counties following the severe storms and flooding from August 14 through 18. Individual Assistance can help eligible residents with temporary housing, home repairs and other uninsured or underinsured disaster-related losses.
FEMA also notified the state that it has reaffirmed its initial denial of Individual Assistance for Boone and Logan counties following the June flooding. The state had appealed FEMA’s initial determination seeking federal assistance for residents affected by those storms.
“We are disappointed by the decision on Boone and Logan counties, but we are not going to stop working for those communities,” said Governor Morrisey. “Families there suffered real losses, and we will continue working with state and local partners to identify resources that can help them recover.”
Residents of Fayette, Harrison and Kanawha counties who suffered damage from the August storms can apply for assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov, through the FEMA mobile app, or by calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.
