The claims are from property owners who sustained damage following the remnants of Hurricane Helene in late September. The powerful storm knocked down trees and power lines across the region leaving thousands without electricity for more than a week. In some instances, trees also fell on homes and vehicles.
The FEMA disaster recovery center in Tazewell County closed just before Thanksgiving, according to Tazewell County Administrator Eric Young.
Young said Tuesday the total number of claims submitted to FEMA as of December 1 was 1,677. Tazewell County's population is just under 40,000.
"The number of individual claims filed by Tazewell County residents with FEMA was surprising to us and our Emergency Management team," Young said. "During the event we monitored flooding events and worked to keep roads open, and, despite the loss of wireless communications, we had a good handle on where flooding was likely to occur based on experience and geography. We later learned the historic scope of the wind damages to private homes and property which manifested in the claims submitted to FEMA in the days following the storm. Also, the long, widespread power outage resulted in many claims for food loss due to loss of refrigeration. We have a very rough estimate from our calculations of about $3.9 (million) in residential property damage due to flooding and another $1.5 (million) in wind damage."
Young said the hurricane remnants also impacted Tazewell County's farming community.
"Our farmers were hit hard as well," Young said. "We believe the damage to agricultural property, including timber loss, damaged fences, and lost livestock to be in excess of $11 million. However, we suspect there is far more damage than has been reported thus far and we continue to assess."
Neighboring Mercer County did reach the threshold for a federal disaster declaration, but President Joe Biden has not yet signed that disaster declaration, Mercer County Emergency Services Director Keith Gunnoe said Tuesday.
"We are waiting on the president to sign the declaration, declaring Mercer County a federal disaster area," Gunnoe said, adding that once Biden makes the declaration a FEMA recovery center will be opened in Mercer County. At that point, residents of Mercer County who sustained damages and losses from the storm will be able to file a claim with FEMA.
Gunnoe said officials are hopeful that Biden will sign the declaration later this month.
"I've been waiting as well as everyone else," Gunnoe said. "That is where we are."
Gunnoe said seven homes were destroyed in Mercer County from the remnants of the hurricane with another 28 structures sustaining significant damage.
© 2024 the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, W.Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
