W.Va. State Leaders Petition Obama for Flood Relief

Dear Mr. President:   The hardworking men and women of West Virginia have pulled together to help each other rebuild from the devastating one-in-a-thousand-year floods that inundated their communities earlier this year and led to a major disaster declaration on June 25, 2016 (DR-4273). While we are humbled by the heroic actions of our first responders and the thousands of individual citizens who helped friends, neighbors and complete strangers escape rising flood waters, we now find ourselves unable to help many of these same individuals begin down their own road to recovery, and we urge you to include West Virginia in any Presidential supplemental appropriations request that your Administration may submit to Congress.   In West Virginia, more than two months after the deadly June floods that killed 23 people, eight counties remain under a state of emergency. More than 5,000 homes and businesses were damaged during the disaster and over 70% of all applicants incurred at least some FEMA-verified loss. Unfortunately, much like Louisiana, the vast majority of the flooded homes and businesses (nearly 90%) did not carry flood insurance at the time of the disaster, and, according to FEMA estimates, the average grant award for each eligible West Virginian will be less than $9,000. The challenge we face is clear – without additional assistance, these individuals and the communities in which they live simply cannot afford to rebuild.    We strongly support West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s request for $310 million in disaster funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-DR) program to address the critical unmet needs of our constituents. The additional CDBG-DR funding requested by the Governor would help homeowners rebuild safer and stronger. It would give our small businesses an opportunity to reinvest in the communities on which they depend. It would give these communities the resources they need to reduce their exposure to flood threats and promote sustainable development for decades to come. It would be a shame to miss this opportunity. While the scope and scale of this disaster may seem relatively small to some, we cannot forget the 23 men, women and children whom we lost during these floods.   This was one of the deadliest disasters our country has experienced this year, and we owe it to the memory of those that we lost to do everything in our power to ensure a tragedy like this never happens here again.    Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.