FEMA Expands Disaster Declaration in West Virginia
Eleven additional counties now eligible for Public Assistance
Release Date: May 10, 2007
Release Number: 1696-002
» More Information on West Virginia Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
CROSS LANES, W. Va. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management announced today that 11 additional counties affected by the mid-April storms that caused severe flooding, landslides, and mudslides are now eligible for disaster Public Assistance.
The counties added to the declaration of May 1, 2007 include: Barbour, Gilmer, Grant, Hardy, Lewis, McDowell, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Putnam, Upshur and Webster. These 11 counties join seven other West Virginia counties for which a declaration has already been made: Boone, Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Wayne and Wyoming.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides funding to state, eligible local governments and some private non-profits on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of public facilities damaged by the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides. Examples of projects funded by the Public Assistance program include:
- Public roads and bridges not on the Federal Aid System;
- Public water control facilities including dams and drainage channels;
- Public utilities such as water treatment, sewage treatment and electrical; public buildings such as police and fire stations, libraries and public office buildings, including their vehicles and contents; and
- Public parks and recreation facilities including playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, golf courses, ball fields, and boat ramps.
All 55 counties in the State of West Virginia are also eligible for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). This program provides grants to state and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration in efforts to reduce future disaster losses.
Eligible applicants for HMGP funding include:
- State and local governments;
- Indian tribes or other tribal organizations; and
- Certain private non-profit organizations.
FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Thursday, 10-May-2007 18:02:39