Major Disaster Declaration approved in West Virginia for April storms

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — President Joe Biden has approved a Major Disaster Declaration for West Virginia in response to major storms , flooding and tornados that happened across the state on April 2-6.

The declaration means that West Virginia will have access to additional federal assistance to help affected communities and speed up recovery efforts, Gov. Justice’s office said in a press release. This will include Public Assistance and Individual Assistance programs, which will support local governments, nonprofit organizations, and residents impacted by the disaster.

“We worked really hard for this Major Disaster Declaration,” said Gov. Justice in the release. “We made sure we had the damage reports from every single county to get our ducks in a row. After the wreckage the April storms caused, West Virginia deserves this funding. Now, we are going to start rebuilding our communities.”

Individual Assistance funding will be available to qualifying affected individuals in Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Marshall, Nicholas, Ohio, Putnam, Wayne, and Wetzel counties. And Public Assistance will be available to governments and certain private non-profits in Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Preston, Tyler, and Wetzel counties.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program will be open to all 55 counties.

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