Sept. 9, 2024
DR-4787-WV NR-011
FEMA News Desk: 215-931-5597
[email protected]

News release

Disaster Assistance Tops $2 Million for West Virginia Survivors

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Fifteen weeks after a major disaster was declared for West Virginia, more than $2 million has been approved for homeowners and renters affected by the severe storms and flooding of April 11-12, 2024.

More than 500households and businesses have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to date. The deadline to apply for disaster assistance is Nov. 2, 2024.

"Reaching the $2 million milestone means more than disaster recovery dollars in West Virginians' hands," said Federal Coordinating Officer Jeff Jones. "It symbolizes the commitment of FEMA and the whole recovery community to storm survivors. It's part of our dedicated effort to work with West Virginians until the mission is complete."

Disaster assistance may include grants to help homeowners and renters pay for essential home repairs, personal property replacement, and essential disaster-related needs. Housing inspectors have completed more than 400inspections of disaster-damaged properties to verify damage.

Federal disaster assistance is available to residents of eight counties: Boone, Hancock, Kanawha, Marshall, Ohio, Roane, Wetzel and Wood.

FEMA encourages all survivors who sustained disaster-related damage or losses to apply for assistance at their nearest Disaster Recovery Center. Residents can find a center by calling 800-621-3362 or going online to www.fema.gov/drc.

Survivors can also call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone line operates from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. They can also go online to DisasterAssistance.gov or download the FEMA app on their smartphone.

In July and August, FEMA deployed Disaster Survivor Assistance teams to visit storm-damagedhomes to register people and answer their questions about disaster assistance. Teams visited more than 4,800 residences, nearly 900 faith-based organizations and more than 490 businesses.

Other help remains available to individuals:

• Free disaster legal assistance is available to West Virginia storm survivors. This service offers counseling on insurance claims, landlord-tenant issues, home-repair contracts, the replacement of legal documents destroyed by the storm and other legal matters. Call the legal hotline 866-255-4370.

Disaster assistance grants from FEMA are not taxable income and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid, welfare assistance, food stamps and several other programs. Disaster grants are just that - grants that do not have to be paid back to the government.

One of FEMA's federal partners in disaster recovery, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), offers low-interest disaster loans for businesses of all sizes, homeowners, renters and private non-profit organizations. SBA disaster loans may cover repairs, rebuilding, and the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged real estate and personal property.

For more information about SBA loans, call SBA's Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, email [email protected] or visit http://www.sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also apply online via SBA's secure website at http://www.sba.gov/disaster. People who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, should dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

For more information on West Virginia's disaster recovery, visit emd.wv.gov,West Virginia Emergency ManagementDivision Facebook page,www.fema.gov/disaster/4787 and www.facebook.com/FEMA.

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FEMA's mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. FEMA Region 3's jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

Follow us on X at x.com/FEMAregion3 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/femaregion3.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 833-285-7448. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages).

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