By: Lydia Crawley
CHARLESTON – On Tuesday, August 18, Governor Patrick Morrisey declared a new State of Emergency for Tucker County and the remaining 54 counties in West Virginia following a new round of severe storms that have brought with them large rainfall, flash flooding, mudslides, damaging winds and water rescues to communities across the state.
“West Virginians have been hit by another round of severe weather at a time when many communities are still recovering from last month’s storms. This declaration gives our emergency responders, state agencies, and local officials the flexibility they need to move quickly, get resources where they are needed, and help communities recover from the damage.” – Governor Patrick Morrisey
The declaration came following a series of slow-moving storm systems that moved across West Virginia from August 16 to the 18 that dumped excessive rainfall on numerous communities. Several localized areas received near-record rainfall in just a matter of hours that triggered flash flooding and mudslides that resulted in significant damage to homes, businesses, public infrastructure and essential services, the Governor’s Office said.
The new declaration will cover all 55 counties in the state and will remain in effect for 30 days unless terminated sooner. It allows state and local agencies to coordinate and deploy personnel, equipment and other essential resources necessary to support emergency response and relief operations.
The new State of Emergency allows the West Virginia Emergency Management Division and other state agencies to continue working with local and federal partners to assess damage and respond to immediate needs, as well as provide assistance to affected communities following the latest storms.
“We have crews and emergency responders working across the state, and we are going to make sure they have what they need to do their jobs,” said Governor Morrisey. “We will continue working with our local partners to assess the damage and help West Virginians recover.”
This declaration is separate from the State of Emergency issued following the severe storms and flooding that began July 21 that the Governor just extended for Tucker County. A statewide State of Emergency was declared by Governor Morrisey for that event on July 21 and extended for Tucker County and others where recovery efforts are ongoing through September 19th.
Tucker County Director of Emergency Management Kevin White clarified to the Parsons Advocate that the new declaration will not provide any additional relief or assistance that was not already provided by the existing State of Emergency that had been extended for Tucker County from the July 21st event. The only difference the new State of Emergency has over the existing one is that the new State of Emergency is statewide.
