by Leann Ray, West Virginia Watch
April 29, 2025

Last week, West Virginia Watch reporter Amelia Ferrell Knisely traveled to McDowell County to talk to residents about recovery efforts after the mid-February floods.

She found that many people still have soggy carpets and wet basements after more than two months. Houses are filled with mold. Trash is piled up outside. Some residents say they haven’t seen anyone from the state or federal government in their small towns offering help.

And McDowell is one of the few counties that actually received federal funding for flood response. 

In late February, the federal government approved Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s request for federal  aid. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far approved nearly 3,500 applications for individual assistance, and more than $25 million has been awarded to residents in Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

Residents who receive that money can use it to cover the costs of temporary housing and home repairs. 

About 94% of West Virginia communities are considered “Special Flood Hazard Areas,” which means the more than 84,000 structures in those areas are at a high risk of flooding, according to a 2023 report by researchers at West Virginia University.

However, President Donald Trump has suggested that FEMA, which is the only agency currently that administers disaster relief funds, might “go away.”

Last week it was announced that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency would cut 1,000 employees — or 20% of the workforce — from FEMA, just ahead of hurricane season.

On Wednesday, Morrisey announced that FEMA denied individual assistance grants to Boone, Cabell, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Lincoln, Monroe and Summers counties, and public assistance grants in Cabell and Kanawha counties for the February floods. 

“Despite today’s notification, I am grateful to the Trump Administration for their strong support for Southern West Virginia’s recovery following the February floods,” Morrisey said in a statement. 

We know you’re not a native West Virginian, governor, but please stand up for your adopted state.

Alex Brown from Stateline, one of West Virginia Watch’s sister newsrooms, reached out to the White House about states being denied FEMA funding, and received a statement that said the agency is focused on “truly catastrophic disasters,” and that states need to have a better “appetite to own the problem.”

West Virginia has no appetite, as shown during the legislative session.

On April 4, about three weeks after the devastating February floods, Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, proposed adding $50 million to the state budget for flood prevention. 

“We have the ability to do something earthly,” Hornbuckle said. “The power that we have — not just the divine power — but with a button and a pen that we all have to help out neighbors in the great state of West Virginia.”  

The amendment was rejected 75-19.

Remember the 2016 floods — the deadliest in the state’s history? Former Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, a Democrat born in Logan County, declared a state of emergency for 44 of the state’s 55 counties.

Since November 2019, FEMA has given West Virginia more than $424 million in funding in response to the 2016 floods. More than $42 million was given to 4,949 individuals and families, and more than $172.8 million was given to local and state governments and some nonprofits. FEMA also provided more than $209.8 million to replace Herbert Hoover High, Richwood Middle, Richwood High, Summersville Middle and to relocate Clendenin Elementary.

Herbert Hoover High School was destroyed, and students were taught in portable classrooms until their new school was completed in fall 2023. Clendenin Elementary School didn’t reopen until fall 2024. Construction hasn’t started on the schools destroyed in Nicholas County. 

In response to that flood, the West Virginia Legislature created the State Resiliency Office. Its purpose is to “Minimize the loss of life and property, m​​aintain eco​nomic stability, and improve recovery time by coordinating with stakeholders to implement disaster resilient strategies.​​

The state Legislature created the West Virginia Disaster Recovery Trust Fund in 2023 with Senate Bill 677. The fund sits empty. No money was allocated to that fund during the 2024 legislative session. The FY 2026 budget, which Morrisey has signed, doesn’t include any money for the fund either. 

There were only three bills related to flooding during the session — House Bill 2858 and Senate Bill 502 were the same bill, meant to allow counties to regulate floodplains under National Flood Insurance Program guidelines. They both died. House Bill 3502, sponsored by Hornbuckle, would have allowed a one-time allocation of $100 million from the state revenue shortfall fund and $150 million from the state’s income tax revenue fund for the West Virginia Flood Resiliency Trust Fund. It died in the House Government Organization.

West Virginia needs FEMA, but with FEMA potentially out of the picture, it’s time the state whet its appetite and take a bite out of the problem. 

Morrisey has already said he plans to call a special session this summer to deal with the Public Employees Insurance Agency and education funding. Sounds like the perfect time and a good use of tax payer money to move some funding over to the West Virginia Disaster Recovery Trust Fund.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.

The post FEMA’s refusal to help some West Virginia counties just a taste of what’s to come appeared first on westvirginiawatch.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This content reflects a center-left political bias as it highlights government and federal aid shortcomings in disaster response and recovery, particularly criticizing Republican leadership and policies, such as those associated with former President Trump and West Virginia Governor Morrisey. It underscores the need for more proactive state intervention and funding to support vulnerable communities, especially in the context of disaster resilience. The critique of budget decisions and FEMA staff cuts aligns with a perspective that supports stronger public sector involvement and social responsibility, typical of center-left viewpoints, without veering into extreme or partisan language.