HUNDRED, W.Va. — Ahead of Wednesday night’s meeting and the Friday closure of the Disaster Recovery Center, Delegate Joe Statler (R – Monongalia, 51) wants to remind West Virginians that flood recovery is still an ongoing process.
“People don’t realize there are still homes out there, and in order to save [them], those homes needs some work down underneath them to clean those areas out and get them to drying,” Statler said. “We’re going to run into a season pretty soon where you can’t dry.”
Representatives from local and county government, members of the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, reps from the U.S. Small Business Administration, FEMA, the offices of U.S. Sens Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, and Major General James Hoyer of the WV National Guard and Jimmy Gianto of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will host a community meeting Wednesday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to answer residents’ questions about ongoing recovery.
There are expected to be questions fielded about aid applications denied by FEMA.
“It is frustrating,” Statler said. “And I feel for the people out there that, when you are needing a home, the last thing you want is government impeding that to occur.”
Although Hundred’s Disaster Recovery Center, the final remaining in the state following late July flooding, will close Friday afternoon, applications for aid and appeals of denied applications can still be submitted online or over the phone at 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA) through Oct. 17, 2017.
Statler said a number of charitable organizations will be leaving Hundred in the coming weeks, which is why he is still trying to rally West Virginians in the region with specialized skills to help in the rebuilding efforts.
“There’s a huge need for [drywalling] out there,” he said. “Putting back in drywall and installing flooring and that type of thing.”
Officials met in McMechen Tuesday for a meeting with locals to follow up their flood recovery.