This story was reported and written by Radio IQ.
Governor Glenn Youngkin told reporters Friday the state should be finished assessing damage from Helene by Tuesday of next week.
“The number of personnel working with us, from VDEM and FEMA, has enabled us to move quickly," Youngkin told reporters. "We are filing as completed as opposed to waiting until the whole body of work is done which facilitates a much faster response.”
The assessment process will help figure out where additional and future resources need to go. The state has identified 519 homes and 83 commercial buildings with some degree of damage, as of Friday morning.
As for individual assistance requests, FEMA says they’ve received about 1,300 so far. Those funds could start landing in communities in the next 30 days.
People while have been impacted by Helen can apply on FEMA's website or call 1-800-621-3362
Meanwhile, misinformation, rumors and hoaxes about the government's response to Helene have been spreading online since the storm hit last week.
I asked Governor Glenn Youngkin if he’d seen any evidence of one such rumor, that federal agencies are blocking volunteers from helping.
“I haven’t seen that in Virginia and I have to say the coordination on the ground has been spectacular,” Youngkin said Friday morning at a press briefing about the storm.
Youngkin said communications are being restored; of the nearly 300 cell towers the storm knocked out, only about a dozen still need to be fixed. He hopes linking folks back to the rest of the world will give everyone a clearer picture of the situation on the ground.
“When we find ourselves in those moments where you’re desperate and you can’t get answers, that's where confusion and misperceptions can be unleashed,” he said.
Corey Demuro is with the Federal Emergency Management Agency – or FEMA. She’s part of the Virginia recovery team and said the agency has a rumor response website to address misinformation.
“[We’re] encouraging survivors and communities to ensure they’re verifying their sources of information; local officials are your best source of information,” Demuro said.
You can also go to FEMA.gov to find details about known rumors. And if you’ve been impacted by Helene, you can apply for assistance there too.
