1 Week Since Disastrous WV Flood; 94% Of State's Communities At High Risk Of Flooding
West Virginia is waiting on approval from the federal government for a disaster declaration that Gov. Patrick Morrisey said will allow the state to access aid he believes will be “required” to ensure adequate recovery for the regions hit hardest by last weekend’s flooding. The natural disaster impacted nearly the entirety of the state’s southern coalfields, where economic disparities already persist and are, historically, some of the widest in West Virginia.
On Tuesday, Morrisey said it was “a safe thing to say” that the damage wrought from the weekend’s flooding was more than the state could handle on its own. “We obviously asked for assistance because we thought that we needed help from the federal government,” Morrisey said. “So it would be beneficial if this declaration is approved, and that’s why I try not to ask for things unless I actually want them and the state needs them. So I’m very hopeful.”
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According to a 2023 report by researchers at West Virginia University, 94% of West Virginia communities are considered “Special Flood Hazard Areas,” meaning they are at high risk of flooding. More than 84,000 structures are in those areas. The coalfield counties — McDowell, Mingo, Logan, Lincoln, Boone and Wyoming — hold the highest percentage of all counties with buildings located in high-risk floodplains. A majority of those buildings, per that report, are residential.
Statewide, only 1.2% of residential structures in West Virginia were insured for flood damage through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program in 2024, according to data from the federal agency. That data does not include residential structures covered through private insurance. In 2018, FEMA estimated that 12% of all structures in the state that were located in those “Special Flood Hazard Areas” carried any form of flood insurance coverage. That was less than half the national average of 30%, per FEMA. And, year-to-year, the rate of structures covered by flood insurance in West Virginia is decreasing. According to a separate data set from FEMA, there was a 7.3% drop in the number of NFIP policies in place between January 2024 and January 2025.
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https://westvirginiawatch.com/2025/02/18/morrisey-federal-aid-required-for-wv-flood-recovery-stays-mum-on-trump-plan-to-dismantle-fema/
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