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FEMA centers could be in Ohio County by next week

Gov. Patrick Morrisey discusses flood recovery steps for Ohio and Marion counties Thursday at the City-County Building in Wheeling. (Photo by Photo by Derek Redd)

WHEELING — Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Survivor and Disaster Relief and Recovery centers could be up and running in Ohio County as soon as next week, state and local officials said Thursday.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey — in his fifth visit to Ohio County since the deadly June 14 flash floods — joined state delegates as well as local elected officials and emergency management leaders at the City-County Building in Wheeling to offer an update on flood recovery efforts. Those efforts will now include the full catalog of FEMA services after President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Ohio and Marion counties Tuesday evening.

Ohio County Emergency Management Director Lou Vargo said there are three sites that will open up in Ohio County. Two will be disaster survivor centers for those suffering minor damage from the floods and will be set up at the Valley Grove Community Center and the Army Reserve Center in Clator. A disaster relief and recovery center, for those who have lost homes, vehicles and other significant property, will be set up at the Triadelphia Community Center.

“They have to make sure it’s ADA compliant,” Vargo said. “They have computers to set up and things like that … so I look for at least the beginning of the week, early next week, that they’ll be operational.”

Morrisey and Vargo said that concrete details on opening those centers will be released at a later date.

Morrisey discussed the $11.7 million in federal funds that will be distributed between Ohio and Marion counties. A more detailed breakdown of where the funds will go was not ready Thursday afternoon, but Morrisey said his administration has already filed additional requests and amendments for federal aid to secure more public assistance. There are two types of assistance from FEMA – individual assistance for homeowners, renters and small business owners to recoup losses and public assistance for state and local government agencies for things like employee overtime.

“Going forward, we believe that we’ve hit the triggers that would allow this area to recoup and unlock even more resources,” Morrisey said. “So I’m excited about that. I’m going to have a chance to talk to other folks at FEMA and (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) in the upcoming days, and I’m working hard to continually get more resources to help the recovery.”

An important part of the process, Morrisey said, is that those affected by the floods continue providing information on the damage they have suffered. That can be done by visiting disasterassistance.gov online, downloading the FEMA app or calling 1-800-621-3362.

Those applying must include their Social Security number, the address of the damaged residence, the description of the damage and the losses, their current mailing address and phone number, insurance information if available and total household annual income.

That individual FEMA assistance can include emergency repairs in a number of areas, homes, private bridges, private roads, temporary housing, moving and storage, funeral expenses, uninsured and underinsured personal property losses and expenses for medical, dental, legal and childcare services.

The state government has already spent $10 million in Ohio and Marion counties for flood relief through the state’s civil contingency fund. There has been discussion since the floods about the state’s unfunded flood resiliency fund. Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said he believes part of the reason a federal disaster declaration took more than a month to be signed was because of that lack of money in the fund.

Morrisey said Thursday he is willing to revisit the flood resiliency fund in the future, but that state money has been used through other means.

“You could say it’s in one bucket or the other, but the purpose is the same,” Morrisey said. “We’re doing that, and we’re not hesitating at all in terms of addressing the communities that need help from the flood.”

Morrisey wanted to make certain that Ohio and Marion county residents knew that he would continue working to help the two regions recover from devastating floods. Floodwaters destroyed dozens of homes and killed nine people in Ohio County, while causing major property damage in Marion County.

Since those floods, he said he has seen great examples of community spirit as people have stepped up to help their neighbors rebuild. Morrisey said the state will be there for them as well.

“I’ve just been amazed at how the communities come together,” he said, “and I want to show people that we’re going to be there every step of the way and I want to work with folks. As you identify new problems, let us know.

“We are West Virginia strong, Ohio County strong, Marion County strong,” he continued, “and I think we’re going to have a chance to come out of this … we can’t make up for the people that were lost, and that’s deeply, deeply sad. But I think we can come together as a community and rise up through the ashes and make sure that people know what being a West Virginian truly is all about.”

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