CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Governor Patrick Morrisey has announced an extension to the State of Emergency he declared in the wake of the July 21st storms in a dozen West Virginia counties.
“West Virginians have made tremendous progress cleaning up and recovering from these storms, but there is still a lot of work ahead in some of our hardest-hit communities. This extension ensures our state and local partners have the flexibility and resources they need to rebuild and recover,” said the Governor in a news release announcing the extension.
The extension applies to Barbour, Doddridge, Harrison, Lewis, Pendleton, Pleasants, Randolph, Ritchie, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, and Wetzel counties and will remain in effect through September 19th. The State of Emergency in 43 other counties of the state will expire August 20th.
In Upshur County, one of the hardest hit, the work goes on but there is progress. County Emergency Management Director Steve Wykoff said the cleaning is nearing an end and the next transition will be to rebuild.
“Most of the community members have mucked out their houses. They’ve gotten rid of the damaged debris, anything they had to eliminate from their homes. Those flood survivors are now moving on to the rebuilding aspect of it,” he explained.
Flood or tornado victims in Upshur, Lewis, Ritchie, and Pleasants Counties qualify for federal assistance after President Trump declared those counties federal disaster areas. The review continues in the rest of the counties impacted by the weather. Wykoff said anyone with any level of damage is encouraged to register with FEMA if they haven’t done so to determine what assistance they may qualify to receive. There are three ways to register. Victims may use the FEMA App, register online at FEMA.gov, or call 1-800-621-FEMA.
Victims are encouraged to keep all receipts of any expenses incurred due to the storms. Pictures and other documentation are also vital to the process. FEMA reviews each individual case for compensation and the level of what can be allocated.
The local recovery center at the former Kroger store in Weston remains open to provide cleaning supplies to anyone needing them. Wykoff said the donated supplies are still available for those still in the muck-out phase and there is also a Disaster Recovery Center open in downtown Buckhannon.
Along I-79, motorists will notice a gigantic pile of debris sitting alongside the interstate. That is the debris collection point for the damaged property in Lewis County. Wykoff said they have a similar pile in Upshur County as well, but most of the debris collection has been completed.
“We’ve got most of that flood debris picked up from the outlying areas of the county. We’ve got it back to that debris management area and we’re working on getting it transferred up to the landfill area at Meadowbrook,” he said.
Wykoff said about 10 percent of the homes in Upshur County, roughly 1300, were impacted in some way by the high water.