CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County flood victims who have not yet applied for a case manager and still wish to do so have until Friday to submit their information.
The Greater Kanawha Long-Term Recovery Committee is accepting applications from those impacted by the June 2016 flood.
“If they’ve been affected by the flood in any way, shape or form they can sign up,” said Susan Jack, executive director of the committee.
A case manager works with the homeowner to determine if assistance is needed or not.
“They have a whole process that they go through — find out if the folks have a FEMA number, if they have flood insurance, if they got anything from FEMA, if they got anything on their flood insurance, if they didn’t have flood insurance. There’s a lot of factors that go into that,” Jack said.
Hundreds of homes have already benefited from case manager work. Jack said the case worker plays an important role in flood recovery.
“It’s almost like if you go out and hire an attorney to represent you. That attorney is the sole person who represents you, so it’s almost similar to that. That case manager is your life line to flood recovery,” she said.
Heavy storms resulted in devastating flooding in central and southeastern West Virginia on June 23, 2016. The flood claimed nearly two dozen lives and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.
As Florida residents brace for Hurricane Irma, those in Texas and Louisiana have turned to recovery mode after Hurricane Harvey touched down last week.
Jack said, right now, they still need skilled volunteers. She fears a lot of those people won’t be available in West Virginia because they will be helping with flood recovery elsewhere.
“My concern is now with what’s going down in Texas that it’s going to make it even more difficult for us to get skilled folks in here,” she said.
Most deadlines for flood assistance have been long-gone, Jack said. Applications were due into the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration months ago.
“We wanted to keep it open for an additional time period just to give people an additional opportunity to maybe try and seek help,” Jack said.
To request a case manager, call the Greater Kanawha Long-Term Recovery Committee at (304)-539-9399 or stop by their office located at 107 Koontz Avenue in Clendenin. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.