West Virginia recovering 60 days after floods and tornadoes

July 24, 2024
DR-4783-WV NR-017
FEMA News Desk: 215-931-5597
FEMAR3NewsDesk@fema.dhs.gov

News release

West Virginia recovering 60 days after floods and tornadoes

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia has taken significant steps toward recovery following the April 2-6, 2024, severe storms, floods and tornadoes.

In the 60 days following the May 22, 2024, presidential disaster declaration, the response to help West Virginia’s disaster survivors has been swift and substantial.

To date, survivors have received more than $5.6 million in federal disaster assistance for a variety of recovery purposes. 

• More than $3.7 million in grants has been approved to make essential repairs for homes to be safe, secure and functional and for a place to stay for homeowners and renters whose residences were uninhabitable. 
• More than $1.9 million in grants has gone to homeowners and renters to repair and replace certain household items and for disaster-related burial, medical and dental expenses. 
• More than $890 thousand of the $5.6 million in grants approved was the result of follow-up communications from FEMA staff.
• With the average grant totaling more than $5,400, West Virginians are well above the national average for disaster grant awards.
• Homeowners, renters and businesses have received more than $1.5 million in low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to repair, rebuild and replace damaged property and contents. Disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other sources.
• NFIP policyholders have received more than $280,000 in claims to repair and rebuild flood-damaged property. 

But dollar amounts don’t tell the whole story.

Recovery takes the whole disaster recovery community. Affected communities and disaster survivors are repairing and rebuilding better, stronger and safer. This effort is possible with the help of neighbors, friends, family members, voluntary groups, faith- and community-based organizations and local, county, state and federal governments.

The following highlights recovery progress made in the 60 days since the disaster was declared and how disaster survivors and affected communities are overcoming challenges:

• Survivors in 11 counties – Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Marshall, Nicholas, Ohio, Putnam, Wayne and Wetzel – were immediately eligible to apply for help under FEMA’s Individual Assistance (IA) program. 
• Local, county and state government infrastructure and certain private nonprofit organizations in seven counties – Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Preston, Tyler and Wetzel– were eligible to receive funding through FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program to repair and rebuild certain eligible disaster-damaged facilities. Fifty-three projects are in development for state and local entities covering a range of public works from sewers and utilities to road repair and debris removal. 
• The PA program benefits everyone in the affected communities because essential services like roads, utilities, schools and hospitals are often restored stronger than they were before the disaster. FEMA relieves burdens of local and county governments and the state by paying 75 percent of the eligible costs. 
• More than 2,100 West Virginia households have contacted FEMA for IA help. 

Disaster recovery officials interacted with survivors in a variety of ways to help them recover: 

• More than 990 survivors visited 13 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs). The first centers opened within days of the presidential disaster declaration. 
• As of July 23, more than 1,400 FEMA housing inspections have been completed. 
• Teams of FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance specialists visited 22,000 residences in all 11 disaster counties to encourage residents to register for help, provide recovery information and listen to their concerns. 

Whole community partners continue to collaborate to find solutions to enable West Virginia’s recovery and will be here as long as it takes.

For more information on West Virginia’s disaster recovery, visit emd.wv.gov, West Virginia Emergency Management Division Facebook page, www.fema.gov/disaster/4783 and www.facebook.com/FEMA.

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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. FEMA Region 3’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

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