CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Where are the many people forced out of their homes by historic flooding in West Virginia going to live?
Jimmy Gianato, director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said that is the next big question as flood recovery continues.
“The biggest challenge is going to be housing as we start to transition folks out of shelters,” Gianato said.
Ten American Red Cross shelters were open on Thursday in five counties, a week after the storms, according to information from state officials.
Evaluations of temporary housing options, like hotels or rental apartments, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Housing Team continued.
“We’re actively looking at all forms of housing that could be made available,” said Mike Senycz, FEMA deputy division director, on Thursday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
It was not immediately clear, he said, how many people would need alternative housing, at least in the short-term.
As of Thursday morning, more than 400 FEMA staff members were working in West Virginia and additional staffers were arriving daily, Senycz said.
Among the duties for those FEMA workers were field inspections along with staffing responsibilities at four Disaster Recovery Centers.
Operating hours run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at the following locations:
– Richwood City Hall, Nicholas County
6 White Avenue
– Rainelle, Greenbrier County
201 Kanawha Ave
– Kanawha County Schools Crede Warehouse, Kanawha County
3300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Charleston
– White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County
65 W. Main Street
“There’s a series of people that are at the DRC available for help for anyone who comes in,” Senycz said.
On Thursday morning, just fewer than 4,000 FEMA registrations had come in from ten counties. More than $3.1 million in assistance and around $400,000 had gone out, but those numbers were expected to rise at a quick pace.
One temporary housing site for flood survivors, The Greenbrier Resort, remained closed Thursday to paying guests.
“I really would hope like crazy that we could get open in two weeks, but it may four weeks and it could be longer than that,” said Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier Resort. “We hope to be able to reopen the doors, but it will be a long ways from being completely reopened.”
Working with volunteers with non-governmental organizations in Greenbrier County was Senator John Unger (D-Berkeley, 16) who said flood relief efforts were transitioning to flood recovery efforts. Reconstruction will come later.
“The focus should be on helping people get back into their homes so they start getting their lives together,” Unger said on “Talkline.”
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was scheduled to be in White Sulphur Springs and Richwood on Thursday afternoon after traveling to Clendenin Thursday morning with Brad Paisley, country musician and Marshall County native.
A website has been created here as a hub for information related to the flood response, including urgent needs in particular areas.
When it comes to federal assistance, “We’re going to be here for the long haul for them,” pledged FEMA’s Senycz. “We’re going to be with them until they recover.”