WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) wrote a letter to President Trump urging approval of Virginia’s updated request for an expedited Major Disaster Declaration following the February winter storms that caused widespread flooding and damage to Southwest Virginia. The updated request by the Commonwealth of Virginia asks for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for the counties of Bland, Giles, Lee, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, and Wise. The original request included the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, and Tazewell.

Today’s letter of support comes more than two weeks after the Senators and Rep. Griffith originally wrote to President Trump in support of Virginia’s original request for a Major Disaster Declaration, which has not yet been granted.

“Unfortunately, this storm has resulted in at least four fatalities, caused significant damage to regional infrastructure, left over 203,000 customers without power at its peak, caused over 270 road closures including low water bridges and road washouts, resulted in multiple 9-1-1 center outages,” said the lawmakers. “The towns of Grundy and Hurley (Buchanan County) experienced catastrophic flooding, with the river gauges in these towns spiking historical flood levels. Over 150 swift water rescues, including evacuations, were made. The ability to perform thorough damage assessments has been hampered by access to areas, the safety of damage assessment teams, and stretched local capacity due to ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.”

“Since the initial request for an expedited Major Disaster Declaration, additional impacts have been revealed now that post-storm assessments are taking place,” they continued. “This amended expedited Major Disaster Declaration would ensure the availability of key federal resources to support the Commonwealth’s efforts to guarantee public safety and rapid recovery from the direct and indirect effects of this destructive storm event.” 

Expedited Major Disaster Declarations are granted for catastrophes of unusual severity and magnitude when field damage assessments are not feasible or may not be necessary to determine the requirement for supplemental federal assistance. The Administration’s approval of a declaration would provide a surge of federal resources and support, allowing Virginia to more quickly respond to and recover from the direct and indirect consequences caused by Hurricane Helene.

A copy of today’s letter can be found here and below. 

Dear President Trump:

We write to express our strong support for Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s amended Major Disaster Declaration request for the Commonwealth of Virginia due to the ongoing impacts of February Winter Storms. An expedited Major Disaster Declaration is necessary due to the widespread flooding and damage to Southwest Virginia, which is still recovering from historic destruction caused by Hurricane Helene last fall. This amended request includes additional localities impacted by recent storms that had preliminary damage assessments delayed due to ongoing response, debris, high water, and snowstorms.

On February 10, 2025, Governor Youngkin declared a state of emergency in the Commonwealth of Virginia in advance of February Winter Storms. Following widespread impacts throughout Southwest Virginia, Governor Younkin requested an expedited Major Disaster Declaration on February 16, 2025. This request included Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for Buchanan, Dickenson, and Tazewell counties and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program assistance statewide. On February 26, 2025, Governor Youngkin submitted an amended expedited Major Disaster Declaration request for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance that included the following additional localities and counties: Bland, Giles, Lee, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, and Wise.

As these winter storms and flooding moved inland, over seven inches of rain fell in some areas of Southwest Virginia with significant life-threatening flash flooding across some of Virginia’s most vulnerable and least resourced areas. Unfortunately, this storm has resulted in at least four fatalities, caused significant damage to regional infrastructure, left over 203,000 customers without power at its peak, caused over 270 road closures including low water bridges and road washouts, resulted in multiple 9-1-1 center outages. The towns of Grundy and Hurley (Buchanan County) experienced catastrophic flooding, with the river gauges in these towns spiking historical flood levels. Over 150 swift water rescues, including evacuations, were made. The ability to perform thorough damage assessments has been hampered by access to areas, the safety of damage assessment teams, and stretched local capacity due to ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene. 

Since the initial request for an expedited Major Disaster Declaration, additional impacts have been revealed now that post-storm assessments are taking place. This amended expedited Major Disaster Declaration would ensure the availability of key federal resources to support the Commonwealth’s efforts to guarantee public safety and rapid recovery from the direct and indirect effects of this destructive storm event. Significant federal assistance is needed in Southwest Virginia to help our constituents who are already recovering from the widespread damage of Hurricane Helene, which was the most significant disaster in the Commonwealth in over a decade. It is important to note this is the fifth major flood in this area in the past five years.

We thank you for your consideration of Governor Youngkin’s request for an amended expedited Major Disaster Declaration and request you act expeditiously to approve this designation to ensure the Commonwealth has the resources available to support our constituents following this tragic storm event. We look forward to working with you, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other relevant federal agencies to support the Commonwealth of Virginia’s disaster response efforts.

Sincerely,

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