CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than $2 million in disaster assistance has now been approved for homeowners and renters in Central West Virginia affected by the mid-April storms and flooding.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA made that announcement recently, 15 weeks after the disaster declaration was administered for West Virginia.
The agency also said that over 500 households and businesses have registered with FEMA for that assistance from the April 11-12 storms.
During that time, flooding, mudslides, and landslides severely impacted a total of eight counties in West Virginia, including Boone, Hancock, Kanawha, Marshall, Ohio, Roane, Wetzel and Wood.
FEMA Media Relations Specialist Trey Paul told MetroNews that it has been a successful mission these last three and a half months with getting the necessary funding out to the residents in those counties.
“Our Federal Coordinating Officer Jeff Jones summed it up best, he said reaching the $2 million milestone means more than disaster recovery dollars in West Virginian’s hands, it symbolizes the commitment of FEMA and the whole recovery community to storm survivors, it’s part of our dedicated effort to work with West Virginians until the mission is complete,” Paul said.
The deadline to apply for disaster assistance related to the April 11th and 12th storms is November 2nd.
According to FEMA, the assistance has helped storm victims pay for essential home repairs, replace personal property that was damaged or lost, as well as assist in providing other essential disaster-related needs.
They said over 400 inspections have taken place across the disaster-damaged properties to verify the impacts caused by the storm.
Paul said they continue to help provide assistance for residents as they know the process in getting the repairs and recovery they need would be much more challenging without it.
“We’re continuing to meet survivors where they are, I know it’s a long process, it’s stressful, and we just want to be a component of that who offers relief, help and assistance,” he said.
Paul said they currently have two Disaster Recovery Centers open, one in Roane County and the other in Boone County.
West Virginia survivors registering for FEMA assistance at a local disaster recovery center
He said they still encourage residents to stop by one of the two DRCs to talk to a FEMA representative one-on-one and in-person, because they may find it easier that way.
“We know a lot of times people don’t want to talk to a robot, and so, please, take us up on the opportunity while we’re here to come in, ask us any questions, let us know what’s going on, let us know if you received any sort of damage as a result of the storm,” Paul said.
But, as usual, people can also apply for assistance through FEMA’s other options as well– by calling their toll-free telephone line at 800-621-3362, visiting disasterassistance.gov, or by downloading the FEMA app.
Between July and August, FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance teams were deployed out to visit a number of storm-damaged homes to also register people that way and to answer questions regarding disaster assistance.
The teams visited over 4,800 homes, nearly 900 faith-based organizations, and more than 490 businesses.
Paul said they have been glad to assist residents after what could have been some of the most difficult times of their lives.
“It’s tough to watch anyone go through a disaster and the recovery process, again is just so laborious and stressful, and it is rewarding for us to be able to offer some assistance and offer some help,” said Paul.
FEMA had awarded between $3 million to $5 million to victims impacted by the series of storms that occurred a week prior between April 2-6. Those storms included several confirmed tornados that impacted 11 counties– Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Marshall, Nicholas, Ohio, Putnam, Wayne and Wetzel counties.