WVNS

Gov. Justice declares State of Emergency for four local counties

CHARLESTON, WV – Following Governor Justice’s previous declaration of a State of Preparedness for all 55 counties in West Virginia, a State of Emergency was declared for four local counties, as well as Mingo and Logan Counties.

Earlier today, July 28, 2022, Gov. Justice declared a State of Emergency for Fayette, Greenbrier, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming counties after severe thunderstorms and heavy rains throughout this week caused flooding, downed trees, power outages, disruption to potable water systems, and road closures.

Earlier this week, Gov. Justice declared a State of Preparedness for all 55 West Virginia counties in advance of the flooding threat. That State of Preparedness remains in effect for the 49 counties not included in today’s State of Emergency. Also, Gov. Justice directed the WV Emergency Management Division to begin rolling out the WV Emergency Operations Plan as necessary.

“We were prepared for this. We knew that these rains were coming and that our people were going to have to be super, super careful. We reached out to emergency management officials across the state this morning and determined that we had several counties in need of this emergency declaration, but we’re just thankful that it wasn’t worse. Very luckily, we have not yet seen any major life-threatening impacts from these storms.”

Governor Jim Justice, (R-WV)

More severe flooding in nearby states like Kentucky, caused Gov. Justice to order members of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) to be deployed to help flood response efforts. The WVNG is sending two UH-60M Blackhawks and two UH-72 Lakota aircraft with hoist capability and fully operational crews made up of 14 Soldiers to support the Kentucky National Guard.

“The mission of the National Guard is to be ready at a moment’s notice to help our citizens in need and right now, our neighbors in Kentucky need our help. Upon the direction of Governor Justice, our aircraft and crews with specialized hoist capability and medical evacuation training will be deployed to Kentucky to help save lives and assist their comrades-in-arms from the Kentucky National Guard. Our men and women are proud to answer this call.”

Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Crane, Adjutant General, WVNG

The Governor’s State of Emergency will remain in effect for 30 days unless terminated before then.

Gov. Justice and the WVEMD ask all West Virginians to remain attentive to weather conditions through local media reports and follow any instructions issued by emergency officials.