West Virginia Executive Summer 2017 | Page 35

4,000 Residential homes damaged
1,500 Residential homes destroyed
234 Businesses impacted
49 Businesses destroyed
2,500 Residents displaced
35 Schools damaged
3 Schools destroyed

In Numbers

COMPILED BY SAMANTHA CART

THE 2016 FLOOD

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On Thursday, June 23, 2016, historic flooding ravaged the state of West Virginia, damaging and destroying numerous homes, businesses and schools and resulting in 23 fatalities. Within a 24-hour period, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency in 44 of the state’ s 55 counties.
According to the West Virginia Army National Guard, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Clay and Kanawha counties were the hardest hit— the towns of White Sulphur Springs, Rainelle, Richwood and Clendenin, specifically. These infographics offer a glimpse into the destruction caused by what has been called a once-in-a-thousand-years event. •
MAPPING THE RAIN
Torrential rains falling on steep mountains and running off into narrow valleys created ripe conditions for a catastrophe in West Virginia on June 23-24, 2016. This graphic represents the rainfall in inches that fell on some of the most severely affected areas.
Clay County Clay 6-7 Maysel 4-6
Greenbrier County Maxwelton 9.67 Lewisburg 8.86 White Sulphur Springs 8.63 Rainelle 7.67
Kanawha County Clendenin 6-7 Charleston 4.93
Nicholas County Summersville Lake 6.63 Mount Nebo 6.85 Richwood 5-6
SOURCE: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
CALCULATING THE DAMAGE
As of August 2016, the preliminary impacts of the flood damage included:

4,000 Residential homes damaged

1,500 Residential homes destroyed

234 Businesses impacted

49 Businesses destroyed

2,500 Residents displaced

35 Schools damaged

3 Schools destroyed

SOURCE: June 23, 2016 WV Flash Flooding National Weather Service Summary Report
DISASTER AID
As of July 29, 2016, the following disaster assistance had been approved:
Federal disaster assistance
Housing assistance from FEMA
Needs assistance from FEMA
Public assistance from FEMA
Low-interest disaster loans from the SBA
NFIP claim payouts from the SBA
$ 72 million
$ 29.8 million
$ 5.4 million
$ 1.43 million
$ 7.5 million
$ 27.9 million
0 20 40 60 80 SOURCE: June 23, 2016 WV Flash Flooding National Weather Service Summary Report
WWW. WVEXECUTIVE. COM SUMMER 2017
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