June 17, 2009
FEMA trailers arrive in Mingo, Wyoming counties
Lawrence Pierce
Greg Eaton, FEMA's deputy federal coordinating officer, stands beside a mobile home ready to serve as temporary housing in Southern West Virginia at a staging lot along U.S. 119 near Julian.
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JULIAN, W.Va. -- Mobile homes to provide temporary shelter for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed in May flooding began rolling into Mingo and Wyoming counties on Wednesday, as storm clouds swept into the region for another possible round of flash flooding.
Meanwhile, Federal Emergency Management Administration individual assistance grants for home repairs, rental aid and personal property compensation passed the $10 million mark for West Virginians who suffered losses in the May floods.
The trailers, provided by FEMA, are available for up to 18 months, as flood victims rebuild or relocate in permanent homes. Two trailer parks in the Taylorsville area of Mingo County will accommodate 57 of the FEMA mobile homes, while 25 more will be set up in a park near Hanover in Wyoming County. Nine other trailers will be placed on land owned by flood-displaced homeowners.
"Just over 100 families [qualifying for use of the trailers] have been identified so far," said Greg Eaton, deputy federal coordinating officer with FEMA's regional operations center at Dudley Farms Plaza. "Finding who needs this kind of help is probably the hardest thing we're dealing with right now. If people want to know if they qualify, they should call toll-free 877-444-0422 and talk directly with someone in our South Charleston center."
Rental property is scarce in hard-hit Mingo and Wyoming counties, making trailers the only practical temporary solution for people rebuilding or in the process of buying new homes in the area.
Eaton said the number of requests for temporary housing assistance in the hard-hit Gilbert area have been fewer than expected, prompting FEMA to hold an informational meeting on the topic at 6 p.m. Thursday in Gilbert's Larry Joe Harless Community Center. "People in the area who need assistance should come," he said.
FEMA trailers being sent into Southern West Virginia are either 64-foot, three-bedroom models with 840 square feet of living space, or 40-foot, two-bedroom units with 400 square feet of space. All are equipped with furniture and appliances, including microwaves and air conditioners, in addition to kits containing linens, towels, pillows, dishes and utensils.
Also found in each trailer is a radio tuned to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration emergency frequency that issues an alarm when flooding is imminent.
The National Weather Service placed much of Southern West Virginia on a flash flood watch through Wednesday night but by Thursday night, only a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms was in the forecast.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.
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The areas that flooded do not get flooded annually. It takes an absolute insensitive to suggest mining was the cause of the flooding. There was too much rain in too short a period for the creeks to handle. Mining may have been a secondary contributor, but the major problem was excessive water. Probably the biggest man made contributor was people filling in their own property to protect against flooding caused water to divert to what had previously been the "high ground".
I do remember all the book vernacular that inhibits water run off. But in this topography nothing is going to stop this volume of water from flowing to the lower points.
As to relocating, there is no "bottom land" available. Perhaps "mountain top" could be utilized, but there would be a cost for infrastructure that the individuals could not afford. Roads were steep haul-roads
get the coal. Everyone wins! And the citizens have much better viewsheds than the hollers from which they came. They might quit smoking and eating so much. I foresee a Rhodes Scholar or two coming from the area.