James Trump uses a tractor to scrape mud off of Mountain View Drive and his driveway in Tornado on Feb. 17, 2025, where the Coal River took down his mailbox and street sign, left. He said that, in the seven years he has lived there, this is the second time the river has flooded that high up into his yard and driveway.
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Water floods across U.S. 60 at the Main Street turnoff on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, near Tanyard Station in Barboursville.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks with National Guard and state officials while touring flooded areas in southern West Virginia on Feb. 17, 2025.
Flooding water blocks off a portion of Trace Creek Road near Balls Gap Road on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Milton.
A vehicle sits partially submerged in floodwater pooling along Arlington Boulevard on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Huntington.
Water floods around Ona-Milton Little League Fields and Pumpkin Park on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Milton.
Debris begins to collect as U.S. 60 floods near the Main Street turnoff on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, near Tanyard Station in Barboursville.
Smith Creek Road near Burns Lane, east of Tornado, is impassable on Feb. 16, 2025, after flooding hit several lowland areas around the Coal River.
James Trump uses a tractor to scrape mud off of Mountain View Drive and his driveway in Tornado on Feb. 17, 2025, where the Coal River took down his mailbox and street sign, left. He said that, in the seven years he has lived there, this is the second time the river has flooded that high up into his yard and driveway.
FebruaryƵs devastating floods killed three people and destroyed countless homes and businesses across southern West Virginia. But now, some of the stateƵs affected counties are being shut out of federal flood recovery funds.
Ƶ the flood waters receded across the southern coalfields following torrential rain and flooding on Feb. 15-16, Gov. Patrick Morrisey asked for funding through both the Public and Individual Ƶsistance programs from the . By early March, his request included 14 counties.
On Tuesday, some aid was denied for seven of those counties.
Individual Ƶsistance was denied for these counties:
In addition, Public Ƶsistance was denied for Cabell and Kanawha counties.
Individual Ƶsistance was approved for:
Public Ƶsistance was approved for:
Morrisey can appeal these decisions within 30 days of TuesdayƵs FEMA ruling.
ƵFEMA has offered the ability to appeal this decision,Ƶ Morrisey late on Tuesday. ƵAnd I will look at all options to do so.Ƶ
Morrisey thanked the Trump administration for their support following the floods.
ƵDespite [TuesdayƵs] notification, I am grateful to the Trump Administration for their strong support for southern West VirginiaƵs recovery following the February floods.Ƶ
The Individual Ƶsistance program benefits individuals and households, while the Public Ƶsistance program benefits communities.
Total FEMA outlays in West Virginia is still to be determined.
ƵThe amount of FEMA PA assistance that goes to entities within each designated West Virginia county,Ƶ a FEMA official said in a statement, Ƶwill be determined based on the damages submitted by eligible Applicants for reimbursement throughout the disaster program delivery process.Ƶ
Requests to the West Virginia Emergency Management Division and the GovernorƵs Office for details on county-by-county damage estimates were not returned by press time Wednesday.
A Kanawha County emergency management official said FEMAƵs decision is understandable.
ƵIf itƵs your house, itƵs catastrophic,Ƶ said C.W. Sigman, director and fire coordinator for the Kanawha County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. ƵBut [Kanawha County] did not suffer the catastrophic damage Ƶ in terms of numbers of homes, businesses Ƶ that the southern counties did.Ƶ
Sigman said most of the flood damage that Kanawha County saw was in the Tornado area along the Coal River and in low-lying areas of Nitro.
HereƵs a breakdown of Kanawha County damage:
Kanawha County Commissioner Natalie Tennant is hopeful that FEMA will heed an appeal from Morrisey.
ƵWhile Kanawha County did not experience catastrophic flooding in February like some of our neighbors to the south did,Ƶ Tennant said, Ƶsome of our residents and their properties were affected. I appreciate the governor appealing FEMAƵs decision, and I will work with him to solve the problem.Ƶ
Chad Nelson, floodplain manager for Cabell County, said he didnƵt have figures for estimated damage costs in the county from the Feb 15-16 flooding. Nelson said he contacted the ƵEMD to get a dollar figure that was provided to FEMA to make their assessment but also did not receive a response by press time Wednesday.
Nelson said his office only received two calls regarding FEMAƵs Individual Ƶsistance. Both residents were concerned about driveway access over a creek that had been damaged by rising water.
Boone County saw high water from the storms in the Wharton and Bim areas along Pond Fork, a tributary of the Little Coal River, according to Boone County EMA director Michael Mayhorn. There were several high-water rescues reported and one house damaged, but no injuries were reported. Mayhorn declined to comment on the denial of Individual Ƶsistance from FEMA.
In a statement, FEMA officials said several factors are used to evaluate individual assistance:
The need for public assistance is figured with:
To find more information about the declaration process and evaluation factors for Individual Ƶsistance and Public Ƶsistance, go to .
HD Media reporter Destiney Dingess and editor Richie Ray contributed to this report.
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