FEMA In Close Coordination with the State of West Virginia As Severe Weather Continues

PHILADELPHIA – FEMA Region III is deploying an Incident Management Assistance Team and Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) teams to West Virginia to provide support and guidance on the Federal Disaster Declaration Process and PDAs in response to current flooding and severe weather.  

These teams will participate in joint PDAs with the State of West Virginia, local officials, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to assess damages and the impact to communities. PDAs, which are an information gathering process, are the first step in helping a governor determine whether the scope of damage is beyond what the state is capable of handling and if additional assistance is necessary.

Information is jointly compiled and reviewed by the state, at which point, the state may decide that a request for federal assistance is warranted. The PDAs will include Clay, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Roane, Webster, and other counties.

FEMA Region III and our partners at the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) want to encourage individuals and families to take steps to be safe during severe weather and flooding events. If drivers encounter water on roadways, turn around, don’t drown.

Residents in potentially affected areas should continue to monitor local radio or television stations for updated emergency information, and follow the instructions of state, local, and tribal officials. If you are in need of emergency assistance, please dial 9-1-1.

When severe weather hits, the first responders are local emergency and public works personnel, volunteers, humanitarian organizations, and numerous private interest groups. The individuals within these organizations provide emergency assistance to protect the public’s health and safety and services to meet immediate needs. For additional safety information, check with your local officials and media sources through social and traditional media accounts.

To learn more about what to do before, during and after severe weather, visit www.Ready.gov.

FEMA’s support of State and Local response and recovery operations are in direct accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Act. For additional information on flood preparedness, visit www.fema.gov/ or www.dhsem.wv.gov.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at fema.gov/medialibrary and youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3.

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