Federal officials still are mulling over the release of aid to Northern Virginia homeowners following a decision late last week to reimburse governments for storm recovery.
President Bush approved a request from Gov. Timothy M. Kaine that will send funds to Virginia and nine localities within the state for expenses such as infrastructure repairs and debris removal. But another part of the governor’s request has yet to be granted, one that would open up grant and loan opportunities for individual residents.
“It could be tomorrow [that a decision would be made], or we may not get it,” Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Bob Spieldenner said. “It’s hard to predict.”
Intense rains and flooding in late June took the region by surprise, heaping on millions of dollars of property damage and causing a handful of deaths in what turned out to be one of the worst weather-related disasters in recent history.
Insurance claims complicate the process of quantifying private damage. The federal disaster agency cannot pay for damage already covered under policies, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Butch Kinerney said. Public losses are easier to assess, he said.
FEMA still is examining the extent of loss in Huntington, among the hardest hit during the storm. About $3.3 million of the county’s estimated $4 million in private damage was centered in the area.
In Huntington, it’s unlikely that much of the damage was covered by flood policies. Many homeowners said they will have to pay for the damage themselves — in some cases more than $100,000 — after a swollen Cameron Run swept through the neighborhood on June 25.
