SWVA disaster letter BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
This week federal lawmakers from Virginia wrote a letter to President Trump urging approval of Virginia’s updated request for an expedited Major Disaster Declaration.
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) and Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), jointly made their request after February winter storms caused widespread flooding and damage to Southwest Virginia, according to a written statement.
The updated request by the Commonwealth of Virginia asks for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for the counties of Bland, Giles, Lee, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, and Wise. The original request included the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson and Tazewell.
This letter of support comes more than two weeks after the lawmakers originally wrote to President Trump in support of Virginia’s original request for a Major Disaster Declaration, which has not yet been granted.
“Unfortunately, this storm has resulted in at least four fatalities, caused significant damage to regional infrastructure, left over 203,000 customers without power at its peak, caused over 270 road closures including low water bridges and road washouts, resulted in multiple 9-1-1 center outages,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
“The towns of Grundy and Hurley (Buchanan County) experienced catastrophic flooding, with the river gauges in these towns spiking historical flood levels. Over 150 swift water rescues, including evacuations, were made. The ability to perform thorough damage assessments has been hampered by access to areas, the safety of damage assessment teams, and stretched local capacity due to ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene,” they wrote.
Just across the state line in Kentucky, where a federal disaster declaration was approved, FEMA has already distributed more than $2 million in aid for flooded communities from the same storms that impacted Southwest Virginia.
On Monday the agency announced homeowners and renters in eleven Kentucky counties have received more than $2 million from FEMA and more assistance may be available for those who apply and meet eligibility requirements.
Homeowners and renters in Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Knott, Lee, Letcher, Martin, Owsley, Perry, and Pike counties can apply for assistance.
Virginia impacts are still coming to light, according to the lawmakers.
“Since the initial request for an expedited Major Disaster Declaration, additional impacts have been revealed now that post-storm assessments are taking place,” they wrote. “This amended expedited Major Disaster Declaration would ensure the availability of key federal resources to support the Commonwealth’s efforts to guarantee public safety and rapid recovery from the direct and indirect effects of this destructive storm event.”
Declarations are granted for catastrophes of unusual severity and magnitude when field damage assessments are not feasible or may not be necessary to determine the requirement for supplemental federal assistance. The Administration’s approval of a declaration would provide a surge of federal resources and support, allowing Virginia to more quickly respond to and recover from the direct and indirect consequences caused by Hurricane Helene, according to the statement.
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