Governor Youngkin establishes hurricane relief office

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced yesterday the issuance of Executive Directive 9, establishing the Office of Hurricane Helene Recovery and Rebuilding within the Office of the Governor.

Chief Transformation Officer Rob Ward is leading the newly formed Office of Recovery and Rebuilding.

The office will utilize existing resources from the Transformation Office, ensuring no agency resources are redirected.

The directive aims to enhance coordination and oversight from the Governor’s office without creating a permanent bureaucracy, as it will sunset in one year unless further extended.

Since October 7th, five disaster recovery centers have opened across Virginia to assist residents.

These centers are located in Damascus, Independence, Tazewell, Dublin, and Marion, with plans to open additional centers in the coming weeks throughout Southwest Virginia.

or more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Pilots across the region make repeated trips to hurricane victims

A group from Warren County’s airport reports a flight  to Hurricane Helene victims with almost 700 pounds of supplies taken to Rutherford County North Carolina.

The pilots were able to bring needed supplies like water, blankets, and even a generator to victims of the storm.

The pilots were greeted by a grateful community and hundreds of other aircraft dropping off supplies.

Pilots out of Warren County are planning another trip down later in October.

Pilots out of Augusta County and Shenandoah Regional Airport reportedly have been making repeated trips down to the Carolinas with supplies donated by the community.

Supplies of water, canned goods, bug spray, and garden tools are the items that are in constant need in the hard-hit areas with supplies constantly being collected for repeated trips.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

As a flood warning persist additional school information has been released

A flood warning remains in effect for the entire Shenandoah Valley according to the National Weather Service.

Page County schools announced their closure earlier today October 1.

All afternoon and evening activities are cancelled and facilities are closed in Page County.

Warren County Public Schools have announced early dismissal out of an abundance of caution.

Due the flood warning schools are concerned about rising water and bus routes.

All Warren County Elementary Schools will dismiss at 12:30 p.m.

All Warren County Middle and High Schools will dismiss at 1:30 p.m.

All after school activities are cancelled in Warren County.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Water rescues occurred across the valley over the weekend

The flooding caused by Helene kept fire fighters and rescue workers across the region busy working water rescue the weekend of September of the 27.

Page County reports a swift water rescuers brought 14 people off the Shenandoah River.

That first incident left 13 campers stranded on a small island off Alger Road Rileyville.

The campers were between a backwash which became filled with swift water that was continuing to rise.

All those campers were rescued and taken to safety by power boats operated by swift water rescue teams.

Luray Fire and Rescue reports that they took a call involving a camper trapped near River Water Drive.

Boat 70 was able to take that stranded camper to safety.

At approximately 5:30 p.m. another call for help came from the Page Valley area.

On arrival crews found a man trapped in his vehicle by rising water.

A paddle craft was successfully able to take that man to safety.

In those instances, Luray, Page, and Shenandoah crews assisted in each incident.

Warren County Fire and Rescue reports 3 separate water rescue with more details to come.

There were some attempting to kayak the swollen Shenandoah River.

Authorities are strongly discouraging any kind of river activity as the Shenandoah River will continue to rise in the immediate future.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

FEMA is approved to assist Virginia in Helene recovery

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been approved by President Biden to assist Virginia in recovery from Helene.

This means that federal funding has become available to the state and certain nonprofits organizations on a cost sharing basis for emergency in the hardest hit areas.

Direct assistance is available for Grayson, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wyth Counties and the City of Galax.

Governor Youngkin visited Damascus in Southwest Virginia September 29 to assess the storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene and emphasized the Commonwealth’s commitment to supporting the affected communities in their recovery efforts.

Over 50 swift water crews were deployed with helicopter air support and able to help stranded people in Washington County in the city of Damascus where substantial flooding was recorded particularly at Radford University.

A Virginia State Police helicopter was dispatched to assist at least 50 people on the roof of a hospital in Tennessee.

In Virginia one fatality occurred in Craig County when a tree fell causing a building collapse.

Five counties including Augusta were under voluntary evacuation recommendations during the brunt of the storm.

Governor Youngkin said the recovery from this storm is going to take some time.

He also commended the efforts of all first responders in answering the call.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Prepare for hurricane season

As the Atlantic hurricane season kicks off, Governor Glenn Youngkin is calling on residents throughout our Commonwealth to prioritize readiness in anticipation of potential storms.

Recently, Governor Youngkin toured the Virginia Department of Emergency
Management to receive updates on ongoing hurricane preparedness efforts.

With the hurricane season spanning from June 1st to November 30th, taking steps is essential to protecting lives and property.

Storms originating in the lower Atlantic or Gulf States pose a risk of moving northward and inflicting substantial damage on Virginia.

That’s why all Virginians statewide are urged to prepare.

Take the time now to review your insurance policy, secure your property, and create a plan that includes arrangements for your pets or those that may need extra assistance.

Know your zone.

Evacuation may become necessary depending on the track and severity of the storm.

Review Virginia’s evacuation zones at KnowYourZoneVA.org.

Users can enter their physical address in the search bar of the website to confirm their designated evacuation zone.

Complete a family communication plan.

Prepare for how you will assemble and communicate with your family and loved ones.

Identify meeting locations and anticipate where you will go.

Create an emergency kit comprising nonperishable food, water, medications, hygiene items, radios, spare batteries, and essential documents.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

Weatherwise, May 2024

We’ll we’ll run down the weather averages for this month and take a look at the forecast for May, we’ll tell you what the National Weather Service uses as their 3 criteria for SEVERE weather, we’ll update the state of our coming hurricane season and we’ll look at how extreme weather affects our bodies.Â