By Cameron Maynard
For The Logan Banner
CHARLESTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has once again denied individual assistance for Boone and Logan counties following flooding in June, according to a Thursday, Oct. 7 news release from West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office.
The state had appealed FEMA’s initial determination denying federal assistance for residents affected by those storms.
“We are disappointed by the decision on Boone and Logan counties, but we are not going to stop working for those communities,” Morrisey said in the release. “Families there suffered real losses, and we will continue working with state and local partners to identify resources that can help them recover.”
Federal Individual Assistance can help eligible residents with temporary housing, home repairs and other uninsured or underinsured disaster-related losses.
Flash flooding affected parts of Boone County from June 22-23, with the worst of the damage occurring in the Route 85 communities of Van, Bob White, Wharton and Bald Knob as well as the Route 17 areas of Jeffrey, Ottawa and Clothier, Boone County Sheriff Chad Barker told Coal Valley News for a previous story.
Meanwhile, FEMA approved public assistance for Barbour, Doddridge, Lewis, Pendleton, Pleasants, Randolph, Ritchie, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur and Wetzel counties following the severe storms, flooding and landslides that began July 21.
Public assistance provides federal funding on a cost-share basis for emergency work, debris removal and the repair or replacement of damaged public infrastructure, including roads and utilities.
Individual assistance was previously approved for Lewis, Pleasants, Ritchie and Upshur counties following the July storms.
FEMA also approved individual assistance for Fayette, Harrison and Kanawha counties following the severe storms and flooding from Aug. 14 through 18.
“I want to thank President Trump and his administration for approving this assistance and continuing to stand with West Virginia as our communities recover,” Morrisey said in the release. “Our local emergency managers, first responders and volunteers worked alongside the state and FEMA to document the damage and make the case for this assistance. We will keep working to get resources where they are needed and help these communities rebuild.”
Read more from The Logan Banner here
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