By Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON, W.Va. – Work on calculating the monetary losses Hurricane Helene’s winds and rain inflicted on Mercer County continued Wednesday as the county commission recognized the first responders that aided the public during and after the storm.
Keith Gunnoe, director of the Mercer County Office of Emergency Management, said Wednesday that he believes the county will meet the threshold for federal disaster assistance.
About seven Mercer County homes were destroyed while about another 22 had major damage. In other cases, residents lost large amounts of food when their refrigerators and freezers lost power. In the city of Bluefield, around $1 million of food was lost, impacting lower-income residents. The state is now examining local surveys and calculating the total dollar amount of the county’s losses to see if the county qualifies for FEMA assistance.
“If this rises to the level of a declaration federally and FEMA does come in here, there potentially would be a payment for associated losses like the food,” Gunnoe said. “I’m getting mixed comments from people. People have homeowners insurance. Some homeowners’ insurance is covering this and some of them aren’t because insurance companies are tricky. If this is considered an act of God or an act of nature, insurance companies don’t cover those losses even for those homes. And it’s kind of like flooding. Unless you specifically have flood insurance, your homeowners insurance will not cover flooding. You have to have specifically flood insurance either through a private carrier or through the National Flood Insurance Program.”
Gunnoe said he had not heard if FEMA assistance will be available, but believes the county could meet the threshold of around $1.5 million in damages.
