Vice presidential nominee JD Vance visits flood-ravaged Damascus

DAMASCUS, Va. (WJHL) — Vice presidential nominee Senator JD Vance visited Southwest Virginia on Thursday to survey the destruction of Hurricane Helene.

Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, met with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin outside of the First Baptist Church on East Laurel Avenue before touring the damage.

Vance’s visit coincides with the Federal Emergency Agency’s (FEMA) assessment of damage in Washington County, Virginia.

“Unfortunately, it’s really hard to understand the scale of the tragedy until you come and see it with your own eyes,” Vance told members of the media.

A federal emergency declaration for Public Assistance, Emergency Protective Measures and Direct Federal Assistance has been approved for Grayson, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe counties and the City of Galax.

“People need a lot of resources to rebuild, to rebuild the water system, to rebuild the roads, put power back on, to restock peoples’ refrigerators,” Vance said. “But most importantly, I heard an unbelievable number of stories of incredible human tragedy but also human heroism that saved a lot of lives and made it so this very significant tragedy wasn’t worse.”

Youngkin thanked Vance for his visit and for “standing with the people of Southwest Virginia during this challenging time” in a social media post.

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