FEMA opens Disaster Recovery Center at Logan Campus of Southern

A Disaster Recovery Center from the Federal Emergency Management Agency open this week in Logan on the campus of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical Center. Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA, Mark O'Hanlon joined Aaron Stone on "What's Your Opinion?" Thursday to discuss the resources available to resident affected by the February flood.

LOGAN Residents in several West Virginia counties may be able to get federal assistance to recover from the winter flooding last month, according to FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Mark O’Hanlon.

Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA, Mark O’Hanlon, said the agency has distributed nearly fifteen million dollars in assistance throughout the state, including in Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wayne and Wyoming counties. He explained Thursday on “What’s Your Opinion” that FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program may provide money to help with temporary housing, medical and dental costs from the disaster, as well as repairing or replacing personal property.

“We have funds in two categories that we can help people out with,” he said. “We have funds that help repair your home, repair your private bridge, your private road, your private well, really focused on the infrastructure of your house; and then we have funds that help those other things that people unexpectedly lose like work equipment, work tools, school supplies, medications – you know, those kinds of prescriptions, things that you can’t just easily replace in this amount of pocket expense. If you had lost furniture, essential items of daily living, if you had medical equipment that you need for your health to sustain your health and now it’s damaged or destroyed, we can help repair and replace those things too.”

Assistance may also be available for vehicles damaged in the floods. Receiving FEMA assistance will not affect benefits like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or SNAP.

Residents can apply for help online at disasterassistance.gov, also through the FEMA mobile app, or by calling 800-621-3362. O’Hanlon said FEMA teams are also visiting communities to assist people in person. He explained that property damage, including structural issues caused by floodwaters, is eligible for FEMA inspections. This includes damage such as collapsed fences and eroded riverbanks near homes. He also encouraged those in need of assistance for debris removal to register for help.

“What we’ll do is, once you register, then we’ll schedule a site inspection,” he said, “We’ll send a professional inspector, they’ll call and make an appointment, and then they’ll come to your home with you and they’ll walk your property, they’ll go in your home – again, escorted by you. No one’s going to come by themselves. We’re not just going to show up on your doorstep.”

O’Hanlon also said that churches and other houses of worship are covered by FEMA through its Public Assistance program, which primarily addresses infrastructure damages filed by local governments.

Moreover, he clarified that residents do not need to visit a recovery center in their own county and can apply for assistance at any center in an affected area.

Disaster Recovery Centers have been set up to assist residents. In Logan County, a center is open at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College’s Logan Campus in Building A, Room 123. The center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In Mingo County, a center is at Southern’s Williamson Campus at 1601 Armory Drive in Williamson. Wyoming County’s center is at the Wyoming Courthouse in Pineville. Both are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

McDowell County has two centers. One is at Bradshaw Town Hall and is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The other center is at the Board of Education Office at 900 Mount View High School Road in Welch. It’s also open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. as well as Saturday, March 29, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., if weather allows.

Mercer County’s center is at Lifeline Princeton Church of God in Princeton. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The center will be closed on April 26.

According to O'Hanlon, a center is also expected to open in Wayne County once final approvals are in place.

Disaster Recovery Centers are open to everyone, including people with disabilities. The centers are all closed on Sundays.

Special guest Mark O'Hanlon, the Federal Coordinating Officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, joined Aaron Stone on Thursday's "What's Your Opinion?" to discuss the federal response to the February floods. Residents can apply for help online at the website www.disasterassistance.gov Registration is also possible through the FEMA mobile app, or by calling 800-621-3362

PHOTO | FEMA