Offering his condolences, US President Barack Obama approved federal aid for the West Virginia communities devastated by floods that have killed at least 24 people and rendered many more homeless.
Obama’s signature on Saturday on the federal disaster declaration lets residents in three counties get aid for temporary housing and home repairs, receive low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and qualify for other assistance for individuals and business owners. Federal money to help the state and local governments is also available on a cost-sharing basis.
West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration still believes there are people missing in Greenbrier County, with the death toll there rising by one Saturday, Tomblin’s chief of staff Chris Stadelman said.
The other two counties in the declaration are Kanawha and Nicholas.
The focus in the Mountain State is finally shifting to community recovery, Stadelman said, away from the days-long, difficult search and rescue process, where residents were helped off roofs and out of attics, and shimmied down trees into rescue boats. Through that arduous process, bodies were sometimes found and the death toll continued to rise.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials were in the state to begin assessing the damage to infrastructure, homes and other property.
Obama spoke by telephone to Tomblin while returning to Washington, from Seattle, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement.
Schultz said Obama is committed to ensuring that Tomblin has the federal resources he needs for all recovery efforts. The president has directed White House staff to coordinate closely with Tomblin’s team to make sure FEMA is providing all appropriate assistance.
After a pounding by storms and floods, basic necessities still are not up and running in some areas.
Water is still not running in the Clendenin area and residents are filling up jugs of water at stations provided by West Virginia American Water.
Fifteen of the 16 deaths in Greenbrier County struck the tiny town of Rainelle. Six other deaths were reported in Kanawha, in addition to one each in Jackson and Ohio counties.
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