Gov. Jim Justice has asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster for the state for last month’s floods, landslides, mudslides and wind damage that affected several counties in the northern part of the state.
According to a news release from the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, Justice sent a letter to the White House last Thursday.
U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito and U.S. Reps. David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Evan Jenkins also sent a letter to Trump expressing their full support for Justice’s request to declare a major disaster.
“We commend the tireless efforts that local citizens and first responders have put forth to aid our great state in the aftermath of such severe flooding, and we again urge you to continue to support us in our efforts to rebuild and recover with federal disaster assistance,” the letter said.
In Justice’s letter, he said preliminary damage assessments determined that 161 homes were destroyed or sustained major damage in just four counties and another 557 residents received minor damage or were otherwise unaffected.
He said the assessments show that federal aid is required to restore lives of those affected to their pre-disaster condition, the release said.
“Although it has not garnered the national attention of last year’s catastrophic disaster, the survivors of this event absolutely need the Stafford Act and other federal agency assistance that can only be provided by your declaring this event a major disaster,” Justice wrote.
Justice proclaimed a state of emergency on July 29 for Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Taylor, Tucker and Wetzel counties. He expanded his state of emergency declaration last week to include Doddridge, Preston and Randolph counties.
He is requesting all categories of individual assistance for Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Ohio and Wetzel counties and all categories of public assistance for these counties along with Doddridge, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker and Tyler counties, the release said.
Although the disaster declaration request does not include the July 23 flooding, which left two dead, the governor said the event had “left the state, especially the area struck by these storms very vulnerable” to flash flooding triggered by the July 28-29 storms, the release said.
The letter requests the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individuals and Household program, crisis counseling, disaster legal services and unemployment assistance, and programs for other agencies including the Small Business Administration and the Federal Highway Administration, the release said.
In his letter, Justice praised first responders including swift water rescue teams during the July 28-29 storms. He also praised response and recovery operations of the West Virginia National Guard and assistance provided by at least a dozen member agencies of the West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
He thanked Trump for dispatching FEMA officials, who have conducted Individual Assistance Preliminary Damage Assessment jointly with state officials and in a timely and thorough manner. The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management continues to coordinate the joint PDAs and other elements of disaster response, the release said.