Gov. Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin assesses storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene in Grayson County. (Photo courtesy of Christian Martinez, Office of Governor Glenn Youngkin.)
The federal government approved a major disaster declaration for Virginia on Wednesday, which will allow residents, businesses and local governments in Southwest Virginia reeling from Hurricane Helene’s deadly impact to apply for funding to aid their recovery efforts.
In a news release, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Democratic President Joe Biden’s approval of the declaration, which the state sought in the days following the storm. The aid, which can come in the form of grants, low-interest loans and other programs, will allow residents to seek individual assistance money to repair damages to homes and property. Local governments may apply for public assistance to reimburse some of their costs incurred while responding to the storm. First responders and the National Guard performed over 70 swift water rescues statewide to rescue residents from rising floodwaters. Two people died as a result of the storm.
Hurricane Helene deaths in Virginia up to 2, future rain prompts more concern
The major disaster declaration is a crucial step to help the region recover, following the emergency disaster declaration Biden approved Sunday evening to help with the immediate response and rescue efforts. Wednesday’s declaration allows people in the following jurisdictions who were affected by Helene beginning Wednesday, Sept. 25, the day before the storm made landfall, to apply for funding:
Giles County
Grayson County
Smith County
Tazewell County
Washington County
Wythe County
City of Galax
Public assistance — funding to reimburse local governments for costs associated with deploying first responders, repairing damaged roads and infrastructure, and more — is available for the following localities:
Bedford County
Bland County
Buchanan County
Carroll County
Craig County
Dickenson County
Giles County
Grayson County
Montgomery County
Pittsylvania County
Pulaski County
Russell County
Scott County
Smyth County
Tazewell County
Washington County
Wise County
Wythe Counties and the independent
City of Bristol
City of Covington
City of Danville
City of Galax
City of Norton
City of Radford for debris removal and emergency protective measures (Categories A and B), including direct federal assistance.
Public assistance is also available to state, tribal, and certain private nonprofit organizations. Grants for hazard mitigation projects, which aim to protect areas from future flooding, are also available statewide.
People can apply online, through the FEMA App, or by calling the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362, according to a FEMA spokesperson.
Long road to recovery
As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, Appalachian Power Company said about 36,300 customers remain without power in Virginia, after the utility saw a peak of 282,000 customers without power in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee on Friday.
On Tuesday, FEMA officials began assessing how much might be requested from the federal government, according to Cardinal News.
A group of U.S. Senators, including Virginia’s Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, wrote to Senate leadership on Oct. 1 that early estimates of damage and economic loss will reach over “tens of billions of dollars.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who called the storm the most significant disaster in the state since 2011, said Wednesday he was thankful the state received the major disaster declaration and expressed gratitude to Warner, Kaine and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, the representative for the 9th Congressional District spanning much of the affected region, who all signed on to a letter seeking the previous emergency declaration.
“This will allow us to get resources to our impacted communities and Virginians as fast as possible,” Youngkin said. “We will continue to work to add jurisdictions as additional assessments occur in impacted areas.”
Youngkin has also praised the cooperation from FEMA’s cooperation, including during preparation for the storm.
But some community advocates question whether or not the FEMA funds will actually reach people in Virginia’s impacted communities, because the money may not have been provided in the temporary budget deal, called a “continuing resolution,” that Biden signed on Sept. 26 to keep the federal government running.
A FEMA spokesperson said the resolution provided “sufficient funding for disaster relief fund needs.” But Appalachian Voices, a nonprofit grassroots organization working in Virginia’s mountainous communities, said FEMA had already exhausted its disaster relief funds prior to Helene and isn’t scheduled to reconvene until Nov. 12.
“If we’ve learned anything in the almost 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, we know that robust federal funding is critical to our success right now,” said Chelsea Barnes, director of government affairs and strategy at Appalachian Voices. “Appalachians are resilient, and we will rebuild. But we need Congress to return to Washington and pass disaster funding now.”
The senators’ Oct. 1 letter urged Congress to act to “meet the unmet needs in our states and address the scope and scale of destruction experienced by our constituents,” and suggested this may “require Congress to come back in October to ensure we have enough time to enact legislation before the end of this calendar year.”
In previous storms that hit Southwest Virginia, the towns of Hurley and Whitewood saw about four to six inches of rain over an up to roughly nine-hour period in 2021 and in 2022, respectively. Buchanan County, where the two towns are located, asked FEMA for $1.57 million in individual assistance for the Hurley flood and $1.9 million in individual assistance for the Whitewood flood, money that would help residents impacted by the disasters, but was denied its requests.
After Hurley and Whitewood floods, Virginia considers state relief fund
The locality did receive $2.6 million in public assistance FEMA funding to help the local government recover from the Hurley flood, and FEMA awarded $3.8 million in the same type of aid to Buchanan and nearby Tazewell County for the Whitewood flood recovery efforts. FEMA also provided the state funding to buy and tear down nearly three dozen structures in Buchanan to prevent future flooding.
The FEMA spokesperson said Wednesday residents could find more details on if they would qualify for aid on the agency’s Individual Assistance website.
The limited individual FEMA funding for Hurley and Whitewood flood victims prompted the Virginia legislature to pull $11 million and $18 million respectively, from revenues from the regional carbon market known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative for relief efforts. The state also said at the time it would explore creating a state program to fill in gaps with FEMA funding through legislation in the 2025 session.
On Monday, Virginia Department of Emergency Management State Coordinator Shawn Talmadge said “We’re not really sure right now” if any proposals will be put forward in January when the 2025 session begins.
More severe weather ahead?
Although earlier this week state and federal officials were urging caution for another storm forming off the Gulf Coast that could hit the region, Ben Gruver, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Blacksburg office, said a high pressure system is forecast to bring “tranquil” dry weather through next week. The storm south of the Gulf has a 40% chance of forming at this point, Gruver added, and if it does develop, it would likely be after the next seven days and it’s uncertain if it would impact Virginia.
“Where it goes beyond that is anybody’s guess at this point,” Gruver said.