New FEMA disaster recovery center opens in St. Albans

ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The newest disaster recovery center to be opened by FEMA is located on Washington Avenue at the Hansford Senior Community Center in St. Albans.

Less than a month after President Biden issued a major disaster declaration for West Virginia, Deputy Disaster Recovery Manager James Young said FEMA has already made a great financial impact on homeowners and renters seeking assistance for severe weather damages that occurred from April 2-6.

“We’ve now awarded over $1.7 million in assistance and that’s with over 1,200 registrations.”

More than 500 people have already registered for FEMA in Kanawha County, so the disaster recovery center was moved to St. Albans.

Young said, “We started off in Tyler Mountain, next we’ll be moving on to St. Albans at the Hansford center and then go to Dunbar so, every week we will rotate between the three locations just to make sure that if you can’t get there one day or it’s not the most convenient, there’s access for everybody who’s impacted.”

While homeowners can apply for disaster assistance for structural damages to their properties, other parts of a residence or private property — not covered by insurance — can also be repaired or replaced under FEMA programs.

“Let’s say you receive some damage to a private road on your property or your septic system or maybe a well, there’s a chance FEMA could offer you some assistance. That’s why it’s so important to always stop by one of our disaster recovery centers like the one in St. Albans that way you can get that one-on-one contact,” said Trey Paul, a FEMA media relations specialist.

The St. Albans location will remain open until June 14, and FEMA says the goal is to help as many survivors as possible.

Survivors can apply in person at one of the disaster recovery centers, online at disasterassistance.gov, the FEMA app, or call 1-800-621-3362.

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