Homeowners in Kanawha, Fayette and Harrison counties who are still cleaning up after the August floods can now apply for federal help. For contractors, that means more repair calls and more paperwork-driven jobs.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Oct. 7 that President Donald Trump approved Individual Assistance for the three counties following severe storms and flooding from Aug. 14 through 18. According to the governor's release, Individual Assistance can help eligible residents with temporary housing, home repairs and other uninsured or underinsured disaster-related losses.
Residents in those counties can apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov, through the FEMA mobile app or by calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. In an Oct. 8 release, the state Emergency Management Division also urged residents with storm damage from those dates to apply. It said Disaster Recovery Center locations and hours were still being set up.
How bad the damage was
The state laid out the scale of the August damage when it asked for the declaration. In the governor's Sept. 13 request announcement, the state said joint preliminary damage assessments identified 624 impacted homes across the three counties. Of those, 22 were destroyed, 60 had major damage, 261 had minor damage and 281 were otherwise affected.
Kanawha County took the worst of it, with 375 impacted homes, including 17 destroyed and 41 with major damage. Harrison County recorded 179 impacted homes, including 13 with major damage. Fayette County recorded 70, including five destroyed and six with major damage.
The state put preliminary estimates for federal Housing Assistance and Other Needs Assistance at nearly $4.48 million. That includes approximately $2.74 million in housing assistance and $1.73 million in other needs.
One number in that request stands out for anyone who's ever priced a flood job: flood insurance coverage among households in the affected counties averages approximately 9.5 percent. In other words, most families with water damage don't have a flood policy to pay for repairs.
West Virginia Watch reported that a woman was killed in the Pax area of Fayette County when her vehicle was swept away in the August flooding.
July storms and the counties left out
The Oct. 7 approval also covered damage from earlier storms. The president approved Public Assistance for Barbour, Doddridge, Lewis, Pendleton, Pleasants, Randolph, Ritchie, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur and Wetzel counties following severe storms, flooding and landslides that began July 21. West Virginia Watch reported that the July 21-22 storms brought nine tornadoes and up to about 7 inches of rain in some areas, and that flooding killed two people in Upshur County.
Public Assistance is different from the help homeowners get. It provides federal funding on a cost-share basis for emergency work, debris removal and repair or replacement of damaged public infrastructure, including roads and utilities. Individual Assistance had already been approved for Lewis, Pleasants, Ritchie and Upshur counties after the July storms.
Not everyone got good news. FEMA reaffirmed its earlier denial of Individual Assistance for Boone and Logan counties following June flooding, after the state appealed.
"We are disappointed by the decision on Boone and Logan counties, but we are not going to stop working for those communities," Morrisey said. "Families there suffered real losses, and we will continue working with state and local partners to identify resources that can help them recover."
Why it matters for Contractors
In Kanawha, Fayette and Harrison counties, Individual Assistance money will flow to homeowners for repairs. With insurance coverage that low, many will be paying contractors with a mix of FEMA grants, low-cost disaster loans and savings. Contractors doing that work should write clear, itemized estimates and keep photos and records. Homeowners often need that documentation for their FEMA claims and appeals.
Disasters also bring out bad actors. Legitimate local firms can set themselves apart by being licensed, insured and upfront, and by never asking for large cash deposits before work begins. That's how you earn the referrals that follow a flood.
In the 11 Public Assistance counties, the work is public: roads, debris removal and utility repairs paid for with federal cost-share money and procured by counties, towns and agencies. Contractors who handle excavation, paving, culverts or debris hauling should watch local procurement notices closely. Those jobs come with federal paperwork and procurement rules, and firms that can handle both are best positioned to win them.