CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Twenty-four percent of flood-impacted state residents who have applied for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency had their homes destroyed, state Adjutant General Jim Hoyer told state lawmakers Monday.
More than 8,500 residents in the 12-county flood zone have sought assistance with nearly one-fourth reporting destroyed homes. Hoyer said 64 percent of those seeking assistance had homes inside the flood plain and 39 percent were from families considered low-income.
“That’s an issue that we’ve got to look at as we address housing and long-term recovery,” Hoyer, who is helping lead the recovery effort for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, told lawmakers.
The governor’s office had previously announced the state of emergency for the 12 flood counties, put into effect in the hours after the heavy rain, was going to end at 5 p.m. Monday, but the governor announced Monday after the extension of the declaration in eight counties Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Roane, Summers and Webster until Sept. 21. The SOE was lifted in Jackson, Lincoln, Monroe and Pocahontas counties.
“Each county is different and unique. We’ve got challenges moving forward,” he said.
Hoyer did not have a total damage number for the governor or lawmakers to consider in an upcoming special session. That should come by the middle of September, he said.
“We believe it’s going to be some time after Labor Day before we’re going to have some pretty solid numbers that we can give him (Tomblin) and you. There are so many moving parts,” he said.
The National Guard itself has spent $6.5 million on the flood response and state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox told lawmakers Monday the highway and bridge damage is at $55.5 million, which falls below the damage amount from other disasters in recent years. Progress is being made on highway repairs, Mattox said.
“More than half of the emergency work that began immediately after the flood is now complete. The remainder of these projects is expected to be completed in the next few weeks,” he said.
Bids should be approved for more extensive highway and bridge work by the end of September. Mattox hopes most of those jobs can be completed by the end of the year.
Under the direction of Gov. Tomblin, Hoyer said the strategic planning piece of the recovery is focusing on the future.
“We don’t want communities to look at what do they want to go back to, what did they look like before the flood, we want them to envision what they want to look like five years from now,” Hoyer said.
More than $6 million has been documented in volunteer donations and services since June 23, Hoyer said.
The FEMA registration deadline is now Sept. 7.