To The Citizens on the Eastern Shore
Affected by Hurricane Sandy
I understand your frustration and concerns and I appreciate your being proactive and engaged in this process. This has been a devastating, once in a generation natural disaster and my heart goes out to the victims. I cannot imagine the sense of loss. Having lived on the Shore all of my life, I am well aware of the damage that can be inflicted in our low-lying areas by a normal storm let alone one of this horrific size.
The Governor had declared a State of Emergency on the morning of October 26, which allowed deployment of the National Guard. It was also a required step in the Federal Disaster declaration requirements. The President has already entered an Executive Order signed early last Tuesday morning that will allow some clean-up aid to local governments but not to individuals. It is my understanding that Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) was on site during the storm so they could be out in the community as soon as the storm passed. There is no way devastation and loss such as this can be dealt with easily and unfortunately, the money flows from the Federal Government, which, therefore, sets the rules.
The Governor’s disaster declaration, while made by him, is part of FEMA’s federal disaster process and controlled by those federal guidelines. This includes a required damage assessment, which statewide must reach $11 Million of uninsured damage to qualify for aid to localities and 100 homes destroyed or significantly damaged to qualify for aid to individuals. That process is well underway and may be complete. The Governor is not delaying but he is constrained by the process. Disaster relief depends on Federal Dollars from FEMA, which pass through the Virginia Division of Emergency Management (VDEM), assuming we meet the thresholds. The state does not have significant resources for disaster relief and depends on Federal aid through FEMA. There will likely be some red tape and frustration along the way but in addition to being thankful for no loss of life, we should also be thankful that we live in a country that has the resources to provide disaster aid.
If the damage is less than 100 homes, the Governor can still make the request to the President, but the ultimate decision is with the President. I will, of course, encourage the Governor (should he need encouragement) to make the request even if the 100 home threshold is not met.
Early on Tuesday morning after the storm, I tried to contact every Mayor in waterfront localities from Chincoteague to Cape Charles to find out what the damage was and to offer whatever assistance I could to deal with the aftermath and the clean up. I was unable to get in touch with Mayor Drewer on Saxis Tuesday morning despite two attempts Tuesday and also on Wednesday, presumably because the phones were down. But on Tuesday morning, I also talked to Steve Miner, Accomack County Administrator, to get an overall County assessment and to offer my offices’ help and specifically asked about Saxis and was told that the Accomack County Emergency Response had been able to get over to Saxis at about 6:30. I called both County Administrators. On the Tuesday evening after the storm, my office participated in a telephone conference with the Governor. It became apparent that Federal Emergency Management (FEMA), Virginia Emergency Management (VDEM), as well as the Red Cross were all on the scene. I have spoken directly with VDEM and will continue to follow up with them on issues that arise.
I know that the devastation is significant. My office has fielded dozens of calls and has provided information and generally pointed folks in the right direction and we continue to do so. We posted numerous items of information and details on our Facebook page and the Hurricane Sandy page including how the disaster process works. I will have it posted again. The disaster aid process, as with most Federal programs, is complicated. The will no doubt be frustrations along the way.
Please be assured that I am doing everything that I can at my level of elected office to help our citizens and that I will continue to do so. I am as close and available as a telephone call or an email. All of our local elected officials know me and have my cell phone number.
Again, my contact information is delllewis@house.virginia.gov and (866) 787-1094.
