Ten days after Gov. Glenn Youngkin requested an expedited major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump following days of torrential rain and major flooding in several Southwest Virginia counties, officials are still waiting for a decision.
Youngkin announced in a Feb. 16 news release that he had made the request “to support the “ongoing response and recovery efforts of communities impacted by the recent February winter storms.” It went on to cite “catastrophic” flooding in the Hurley community and the town of Grundy in Buchanan County.
A spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that the request for individual and public assistance for Buchanan, Dickenson and Tazewell counties is currently “in process.”
The FEMA representative and Lauren Opett, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said that since last week, the two agencies have been on the ground in Southwest Virginia, working together on joint preliminary damage assessments.
“I would anticipate having data for release at some point next week,” Opett wrote in an email.
The flooding came the weekend of Feb. 15-16, starting with days of heavy rain and ending with several inches of snow and bitter cold. Over the course of the storms, some areas received as much as 7 inches of rain, resulting in flash flooding, closed roads, mudslides and damaged and destroyed bridges, homes and businesses.
At the peak of the storm, more than 200,000 customers had no power, and outages lasted for days in parts of Southwest Virginia. More than 270 roads were closed and more than 150 swift-water rescues were conducted, according to Youngkin.
The other nearby states impacted by the storm were West Virginia and Kentucky, where 22 people died as a result of flooding and frigid temperatures. The flooding in Virginia claimed one life: 74-year-old Nathan Hickman of Bland County, who died when he was swept away by high waters.
A major disaster declaration for Kentucky was approved by the president on Monday. West Virginia has also sought a disaster declaration. As of Tuesday, there has been no approval for West Virginia, according to FEMA’s website.
A spokesperson for Youngkin referred questions about whether the governor has heard anything about his request to FEMA.
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, also jointly requested a major disaster declaration from Trump on Feb. 17. The request was for individual assistance for the same three counties.
The declaration is needed because of the “significant flooding and infrastructure damage to a region that is still recovering from historic destruction caused by Hurricane Helene less than five months ago,” the request states.
Neither Warner, Kaine nor Griffith has heard anything from the Trump administration regarding the request, a spokesperson for each said Tuesday.
“We’re usually notified of a decision shortly after the Governor’s Office,” Rachel Cohen, a spokesperson for Warner, wrote in an email. “Since it wasn’t an immediate declaration, FEMA may wait for the preliminary disaster assessments to come in from VDEM before approving or denying. That could take days or even weeks.”
Federal assistance following damage from major storms in Southwest Virginia is not assured. Requests for federal funding following the 2011 tornado that decimated the town of Glade Spring in Washington County were turned down twice. After floods struck the Buchanan County communities of Hurley and Whitewood in 2021 and 2022, FEMA approved funding to help rebuild infrastructure but denied requests for financial help for individual homeowners.
Each disaster declaration request is unique and there is no typical timeline, according to the spokesperson for FEMA.
An expedited disaster declaration is generally for incidents “of unusual severity and magnitude” and is limited to addressing immediate needs based on rapid assessments until the full magnitude of the event is known, she said.
Individual assistance provides funding to eligible individuals and households that have sustained losses as a direct result of a declared disaster. Public assistance can pay for the repair, restoration, reconstruction or replacement of eligible public or certain nonprofit facilities and infrastructure damaged or destroyed by a declared disaster, the spokesperson said.
FEMA will evaluate the information included in the declaration request and approve all or a portion of the programs requested, according to the agency.
Trump has suggested eliminating FEMA and last month signed an executive order aimed at reviewing the agency.
Elizabeth Beyer contributed to this report.
