It’s been some four months since Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of Southwest Virginia and state legislators are looking to get funds to those who need it most. Local elected officials in Richmond for the 2025 legislative session are hoping to get funds into folks' hands as quickly as possible as federal aid appears months away.
Delegate Will Morefield is the closest elected official to Helene’s damage while also positioned on the powerful House money committee. The Tazewell County Republican said he’s been hard at work getting funds to those who lost their homes to Helene last fall.
“There may be a number of changes throughout the process, we anticipate that will happen, but ultimately we want the victims to receive help and that’s what we’re going to do,” Morefield said in an interview with Radio IQ Monday.
The process as it sits now, via House and Senate budgets released Sunday, involves a similar system used in Buchanan County in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Morefield helped write the regulations back then; it involved giving funds to the Department of Housing, having victims apply for funds, and those applications being approved and money distributed by the agency. They also hired a local person to help folks apply for funding.
The $25 million both chambers proposed Sunday for Helene relief is less than the $100 million, broader disaster relief fund Governor Glenn Youngkin wanted to create. And the legislative plan doesn’t tap into Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Funds like the governor wanted.
$25 million was also what Youngkin asked to be allotted post-Helene, but Morefield said it should be enough to help for now, especially those with damaged homes.
“Our main priority is making sure people get significant relief,” the delegate said.
What remains to be seen, however, is how the state can help out farmers.
“The thing people need is money to replace things," Phil Blevins with the Washington County Virginia Cooperative Extension said Monday. "To build barns back, to build fences back.”
Blevins said total storm impact numbers he’s seen floating around are in the hundreds of millions. That includes infrastructure like roads and bridges, public buildings and lost wages. Federal money is expected to support much of that relief, but those close to the budgeting process hope some state funds can be directed to the ag industry ASAP.
According to Bristol Delegate Israel O’Quinn, those federal funds may not be made available until March 2026.
O’Quinn told Radio IQ he and the governor nudged Vice President JD Vance on his recent visit to Damascus to change federal funds into block grants that the state could distribute.
“What's the point of having an emergency appropriation if we’re going to ultimately be giving it to people to rebuild 18 months after the fact,” O’Quinn said outside the House chamber last week. “We manage a lot of block grants from the federal government, and I think the state government is much better at managing that in a timely manner.”
Senate President and Democrat Louise Lucas also promised quick relief from the state Monday morning.
“We take care of our people in Virginia in the event the people on the other side of the Potomac don’t realize how serious this is,” she told Radio IQ.
Still, all those involved said Youngkin, private industry and short-term federal support have helped.
“They’re doing what they can to help," Blevins said. "I’m sure there’s somebody who's not happy with what’s going on, but the state has been around and in touch and trying to help.”
O'Quinn, meanwhile, said these issues are nothing new to the area.
"Southwest Virginians have dealt with big issues since the 1700s," he said. "It’s neighbors helping neighbors and pitching in to help. It makes you proud to be from Southwest Virginia.”
As for a timeline for state funds, Morefield said applications for support could open as soon as Youngkin signs the budget.
"If everything goes as planned, relief could be in the hands that need it as early as this summer," he said, pointing to the frameworks he built for Hurley and Whitewood.
A final version of aid to the region won't likely be public until the legislature’s reconvene session in April.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.