Six weeks after Hurricane Helene-related weather devastated Southwest Virginia, $30.5 million has been paid out so far to rebuild homes and infrastructure and to provide other assistance to help residents recover.
That number includes $20 million to localities to restore public infrastructure and $10.5 million to residents to repair homes and property, Gov. Glenn Youngkin told a room of disaster response personnel and reporters on Thursday.
“People are receiving the support, the process is working, and I just encourage folks to please participate,” he said. “We have a lot of work still to do; there are a lot of people who are still in need of support.”
The governor also noted that Virginia has been approved for two flood and hazard mitigation grants totaling $59 million in an effort to safeguard the commonwealth against similar disasters going forward.
Residents in 17 localities can apply for individual assistance until Dec. 2: Bedford, Bland, Carroll, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe counties and cities of Galax and Radford.
How many people have applied for aid?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has received 10,000 requests for individual aid from Virginia so far. Of those, 2,700 have been ordered for home inspections, which Timothy Pheil, the federal coordinating officer for FEMA in Virginia, estimated to be about 93% complete as of Thursday. About 7,000 other applicants sought assistance for something other than home repairs.
Some who applied for assistance may have received rejection letters, but, Pheil said, residents should view those as invitations to come back into one of eight disaster recovery centers still open in the region.
“The most common issue for rejection letters has been ‘We can’t get in touch with you,’” Youngkin said. “Sometimes they just need more information.”
People with and without home insurance can qualify for the program.
The amount of time it takes for residents to receive assistance can vary, but Pheil noted that the first payment in individual assistance reached a resident’s bank account by Oct. 4, three days after the Oct. 1 disaster declaration in Virginia. Typically the process can take 10-15 days, he said.
Total cost of damage still unknown, but coming
A total dollar figure for the damage sustained in Virginia was not yet available as of Thursday, but Youngkin said he expects it will be conveyed to the Biden-Harris administration and to Congress next week. Then, the ball will be in Congress’ court to fund the agencies that provide the support.
Leaving it up to Congress may prove difficult. Earlier Thursday, for example, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blocked a bipartisan bill that would have allowed the federal Small Business Administration to continue paying out disaster aid to businesses. That lapse in funding has caused a delay in the approval of new applications for those seeking assistance from the agency.
“While I’m deeply disappointed my colleagues blocked us from doing our duty and reauthorizing this essential funding for small businesses devastated by Helene, I’m as committed as ever to fighting for impacted communities across Southwest Virginia,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said on the U.S. Senate floor on Thursday. “If we don’t get this done soon, communities across Southwest Virginia will see businesses permanently shutter and an even longer path to recovery.”
A spokesperson for Warner said that the senator, along with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are expected to introduce the bill for consideration again soon.
Youngkin said his office has been discussing the possibility of state aid with the General Assembly, but first they need to determine how much aid will be provided by the federal government.
“I am optimistic that the federal government and support from the federal government is going to be extensive and then the state will step back and see what we’ll need to do,” he said. “We’re going to have to wait and see what the federal government ultimately funds.”
