Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency today to assist with response and recovery efforts due to impacts from heavy rainfall and flooding in Southwest Virginia.
The Virginia Emergency Support Team has been monitoring heavy rainfall and severe flash flooding events that began moving through the southwestern region of the Commonwealth on July 27. This event presents significant resource and operational challenges as the region has experienced several days of rainfall and storms with additional rainfall forecasted in the days ahead.
The system has already caused flash flooding and significant impacts to roadways and utilities in several localities.
The Commonwealth is assisting with ongoing response and recovery operations which includes providing assets and supplies to our local partners. The VEST will continue to support this incident.
“Southwest Virginia continues to be impacted by flooding after heavy rainfall in the area yesterday,” Youngkin said. “With more rainfall forecasted over the next few days, we want to lean forward in providing as many resources possible to assist those affected. Our team will continue to monitor the situation and provide assistance as needed.”
A state of emergency allows the Commonwealth to mobilize resources and deploy people and equipment to assist in response and recovery efforts. The declaration also allows officials from Virginia to coordinate the provision of resources with our state and local partners. This action does not apply to individuals or private businesses.
The full text of Executive Order 21 is available here.
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