CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It’s been just a little over three weeks since floodwater ravaged parts of the southern coalfield counties of West Virginia. The recovery is well underway, but for many a return to normal will take time.
In parts of Mingo, McDowell, Mercer and Wyoming counties those who had homes flooded out have spent recent days moving soaked and ruined furniture and other belongings to the curb. Those piles of debris are being hauled away by trucks and equipment from the West Virginia National Guard.
“What we call ‘loader-dump teams’, heavy equipment teams on the ground have now removed over 7,000 tons of debris,” said state Adjutant General Jim Seward.
The removal is being headed up by Guard leaders, but they are working in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Environmental Protection to decide where all of the debris is finally disposed.
Seward tells MetroNews for many victims, it’s an extremely difficult time. Most are trying to throw away all of their possessions in hopes of salvaging what they can of their home and restarting life. He said the trauma of the event is shocking. But he’s also shocked at the level of commitment to helping others.
“Whether it’s to clean out their garage because they are a fireman and they haven’t had a chance to get back to their own house. Or maybe they are a member of the National Guard, a lot of these Guard members live in these communities or maybe it’s a school teacher who is trying to get school restarted,” he explained. “It’s amazing. I’ve seen it in many, many states, but West Virginia leads the way in taking care of their neighbors.”
Guard troops have been involved since the first raindrops began to fall on the morning of February 15, Gov. Patrick Morrisey activated the members with an emergency declaration, one which he extended for another month in 14 southern West Virginia counties on Friday. Those counties are Boone, Cabell, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mercer, McDowell, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne and Wyoming. The declaration allows for the Guard to be activated and eliminates a lot of red tape to keep state resources available and engaged in the recovery and cleanup.
“We’ve been on the ground for over 21 days. The National Guard has been assisting the local officials and emergency management and first responders 24/7 since those first
raindrops.”
Guard members have been active in swiftwater rescues during the initial phase, welfare checks amid the aftermath and the delivery of food, water, cleaning materials, and other flood relief supplies every since the first drops fell. Seward said his troops are probably halfway through the debris removal process and expected it would last another couple of weeks. At the height of the response there were more than 225 troops on active duty, that has been reduced to just more than 135.
FEMA fully in flood zone
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also been active in the recovery.
President Donald Trump issued a disaster declaration for four counties; Mingo, Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming and now the agency is set up to help. They opened two disaster recovery centers last week, one in Bradshaw in McDowell County and a second in Mercer County at the Lifeline Church of God in Princeton. Two more centers will be opened on Monday in Mingo and Wyoming counties.
The Mingo County office will be at the Williamson Campus of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. The Wyoming County FEMA office will be at the Wyoming County Courthouse in Pineville.
“There has been one max grant awarded already for full damage to the home which is about $42,000. But it runs the spectrum, some people got flooded all the way up into their house and may have gotten their car damaged. It’s really running the gambit,” said FEMA Spokesperson Kim Fuller in Charleston.
As of Friday, more than $1 million in federal disaster assistance has been approved for over 1,400 households in the state. Fuller expected that number to climb.
“About $1.4 million has already been approved and moved into people’s bank accounts, another $2.2 Million has been approved as of last night, so that should be going out pretty soon. It’s been less than two weeks, so that’s pretty good progress,” she said.
It’s not fast enough for those with no home or extreme damage. Fuller understood and encouraged everyone who had any level of damage in the four counties where a disaster declaration has been made to register with FEMA and get in line for the help. There are really four ways to register according to Fuller. Victims can sign up by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA, online at www.disasterassistance.gov, download the FEMA app from Google Play or the App store, or apply in person at a FEMA field office.
“An inspector has to come out to the home to check on what damages there were. So if you get a text or phone call from a number you don’t recognize, be sure to respond to the call,” she explained.
It’s unclear how long the full recovery will take. Most expect it will be months before things start to return to something normal, but for now FEMA and the Guard remain on standby to provide assistance in the southern counties of the Mountain State.