BRISTOL, Va.— The Public Assistance Program is FEMA’s largest grant program, providing funding to assist states, federally recognized tribal governments, U.S. territories, local governments and certain types of private nonprofits. Public Assistance grants help pay for emergency and permanent work that helps communities respond to and recover from disasters.
On Oct. 1, several Virginia counties and cities were approved for Public Assistance Categories A and B, which support the following emergency work: debris removal and emergency protective measures.
The major disaster declaration for the Commonwealth of Virginia was amended on Oct. 10, approving Lee County for Public Assistance Categories A-G and adding Public Assistance Categories C-G for the following areas: Bedford, Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe Counties as well as the cities of Bristol, Covington, Danville, Galax, Norton and Radford.
Public Assistance Categories C-G support permanent work in the following:
- Category C: Roads and bridges
- Category D: Water control facilities
- Category E: Public buildings and contents
- Category F: Public utilities
- Category G: Parks, recreational and other facilities
For more information on Public Assistance, see: fema.gov/assistance/public.
FEMA has set up a rumor response webpage to clarify our role in the Helene response. Visit Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response | FEMA.gov.
For more information on Virginia’s disaster recovery, visit vaemergency.gov, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management Facebook page , fema.gov/disaster/4831 and facebook.com/FEMA.
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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. FEMA Region 3’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Follow us on X at x.com/FEMAregion3 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/femaregion3.
To apply for FEMA assistance, please call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362, visit https://www.disasterassistance.gov/, or download and apply on the FEMA App. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages). Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status.