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Immediately after the deadly flooding of July 21, West Virginians once again showed how big their hearts are by providing donations of supplies, money and volunteer man hours to Upshur and Lewis counties.
Those donations and charitable efforts were vital in getting the communities past the initial shock of the flooding, providing people temporary housing in shelters while emergency workers rescued those stranded by the rushing waters, and then began clearing the area of the massive amounts of flood debris left behind.
Now that the Upshur and Lewis county distribution centers have consolidated into one location -- Lewis-Upshur County Donation & Distribution Center, located at the Market Place Plaza in Weston -- the next phase of flood recovery can begin.
This week we learned that President Donald Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved $4.5 million in expedited Individual Assistance for Lewis and Upshur counties, while federal disaster officials review storm damage in five other West Virginia counties.
The announcement authorizes FEMA to begin implementing federal assistance programs and to coordinate with state and local officials on flood recovery efforts.
Later in the week, a FEMA press release clarified that "the president's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Lewis and Upshur counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and families recover from the effects of the disaster.
“Individuals and families who sustained losses in the designated areas should first file claims with their insurance providers and then apply for assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA App."
Then on Thursday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey and WorkForce West Virginia announced that Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are now available to qualifying individuals who live or work in Lewis and Upshur counties.
Individuals unemployed due to the July 21-22 severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, landslides and mudslides must contact WorkForce West Virginia by sending an email to ucpolicy@wv.gov or by calling 304-558-3340 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
And local officials are still urging all residents who have been affected by flooding to fill out a West Virginia Damage Assessment Survey. The survey can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/FloodDamageSurvey2026.
This phase of the recovery effort may involve less physical effort, but much more paperwork, and it is vital for flooding victims to fill out the surveys, apply for the programs and do everything they can to bring their homes and their local community back to normal.