7/9/2010
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Joe Manchin today received word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that President Obama has approved the addition of Lewis County to its major disaster declaration, in response to the storms last month. The governor submitted a federal disaster declaration request for individual assistance on June 30. Citizens in Lewis County who received damages as a result of the storms on June 24 will be eligible to apply to FEMA for individual assistance.
In a letter submitted to FEMA on behalf of the governor, Jimmy Gianato, director of West Virginia’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management stated, “Gov. Manchin has added Lewis County to the State of Emergency he issued for this disaster and responded to their needs in the same manner as he did for the other counties affected by this disaster. This included the activation of National Guard and other state agency assets to assist the local officials respond to and clean up from this event. A Joint FEMA-State Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) was conducted by our staffs on June 29, 2010, and indicates that four (4) homes were destroyed, seven (7) suffered major damage, and 18 suffered minor damage.”
Individuals should register with FEMA by one of the following ways:
• register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
• call 1-800-621-FEMA or 1-800-621-3362
• individuals with a speech or hearing impairment may call TTY 1-800-462-7585.
Gov. Manchin also noted that he was pleased with FEMA for its swift response, adding Lewis County to the federal declaration.
Contact Information
Jimmy Gianato
304-558-5380