Just 11 months since floods killed three people in McDowell County, residents are still cleaning up the wreckage.
Brad Davis, a Methodist pastor and community organizer, said while progress has been made, it’s going to be a while before things are back to normal.
For instance, in Gary, a bridge that crosses the Tug Fork River off West Virginia Route 103 hasn’t been rebuilt. The county has put in an access road through an active mine site so people can get to their homes.
“It’s really not a long term, permanent solution,” Davis said. “They still need to get that bridge taken care of.”
Just a day before Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s State of the State speech last week, Lora Pierce, a disaster recovery specialist with Catholic Charities West Virginia, told the Joint Committee on Flooding that the state is lacking funds for case managers to address long-term issues for people following a disaster.
But in last week’s State of the State address, Gov. Morrisey didn’t announce any new funding for recovery from disasters. Instead, he proposed a $10 million pilot program for an early warning system. The money would be put into the Flood Resiliency Trust Fund.
“It’s needed, and it would help. It would help out a lot,” Davis said. “I’m not sure if $10 million is enough to do it in all parts of the state where it would be needed.”
Drew Galang, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office, said the selection of areas where the system would be tested would be based on frequency and severity of past floods, population and infrastructure in the area.
Del. Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio, whose district lost seven people in floods last June, and Del. David Green, R-McDowell, want details on the system. Green is particularly concerned that a lack of cellphone towers in his district will make it difficult to adequately warn people in time for them to get to safety.
“Any way that we can, to get a better warning and notification out there, I’m happy with that,” Green said.
But an early warning system is just one part of what the state needs to address with regard to flooding.
West Virginian’s mountainous terrain has meant many towns, homes and businesses are located along creeks or river bottoms. Decades of timbering and mountaintop removal have made an already flood prone topography even worse – and stronger storms caused by climate change will only cause more damage. About a quarter of the state’s essential buildings – like schools, hospitals and police stations – face a moderate to high risk of flooding.
In 2023, lawmakers passed legislation to put two funds under the State Flood Resiliency Office – the Food Resiliency Trust Fund, to prepare for floods, and the Disaster Recovery Trust Fund, to help with recovery from an event.
Lawmakers have repeatedly chosen not to fund either. In his last year as governor, Jim Justice asked for $50 million for the flood funds, a request the legislature denied. Last year, just days before McDowell County’s flood, Morrisey didn’t ask for any money in the flood funds in his budget either. Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, tried to get $250 million – later reduced to $50 million – into the funds during the legislative session. But the House of Delegates voted it down.
Last week, both representatives of Catholic Charities and Tidal Basin Group, a consulting company hired by the state to assist in recovery from natural disasters, told lawmakers they need to invest money into the state’s Disaster Recovery Trust Fund.
“Trust funds could be used for a West Virginia disaster case management program,” Pierce said.
Brendan Muckian-Bates, a policy advocate for the Appalachian Flood Resilience Coalition, said other states and cities are funding for disaster relief, in light of changes in climate and federal responsibilities. He said New York voters approved a $4.2 billion bond and Virginia Beach, Virginia, approved a $568 million bond to fund resilient infrastructure for natural disasters.
Muckian-Bates said putting more money in the Flood Resiliency Trust Fund, including for a warning system, is a necessary first step.
“This legislative session, it’s imperative that at-risk communities and experts have the opportunity to provide insight for state lawmakers into West Virginia’s flood risks,” he said.
Catherine Carr Clinch, president of Tidal Basin’s federal and response division, said possible changes to the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s funding formulas could put more responsibility on the state, which would require more investment in the trust funds.
She said, “Consider strongly funding that.”