More than $65M announced for WVa hazard mitigation projects

MARLINTON, W.Va. (AP) — Several West Virginia towns are receiving federal funding for hazard mitigation projects.

Gov. Jim Justice held ceremonies Tuesday in Marlinton and Alderson to announce over $41.5 million in funding. Earlier in the day, another $24.3 million was announced at events in Oak Hill and Craigsville, for a total of $65.8 million.

“Some of our great communities caught a real cannonball to the stomach with the 2016 flood, but we’ve got these federal dollars that are going to help us in a big way,” Justice said. “It doesn’t fix everything that happened. But it makes things better so that we’re more prepared in the future.”

The funds are made available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program.

HUD approved West Virginia for more than $106 million in funds for hazard mitigation projects, meaning the state can still award more than $40 million for eligible projects.