FEMA Staff Heading to Neighborhoods in McDowell County, W.Va.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) Teams will be conducting door to door residential outreach in McDowell County, W.Va., beginning Sunday, March 2, to help people affected by recent flooding. FEMA staff can help people register for FEMA assistance, check the status of applications and make minor corrections to applications. 

Residents of McDowell, Mercer, Mingo and Wyoming counties are eligible to apply for FEMA assistance to help with recovery from the winter floods that began on Feb. 15, 2025. 

You do not need to wait for DSA teams to apply for FEMA assistance. You can also:  

• Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone line operates seven days a week. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for this service.
• Visit DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Download the FEMA App. 

If you have already applied for FEMA assistance, FEMA inspectors will follow up on applications and review reported damages. 

While FEMA staff will be making neighborhood visits, residents of the affected communities should also be aware of potential fraud and scams by people claiming to represent FEMA: 

• FEMA representatives never charge a fee or ask for payment.
• FEMA representatives will always have a laminated identification badge. 
• Protect the privacy of your nine-digit FEMA case/registration number. Legitimate FEMA representatives will only ask for the last four digits as part of the verification process.

If you have any concerns, you can call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.   

For more information on West Virginia’s disaster recovery, visit emd.wv.gov, West Virginia Emergency Management Division Facebook page, www.fema.gov/disaster/4681 and www.facebook.com/FEMA.

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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. FEMA is committed to ensuring disaster assistance is accomplished impartially, without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, ask for assistance on the FEMA Helpline 1-800-621-3362 (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages). In addition, FEMA’s Civil Rights Office can be contacted at FEMA-OCR-ECRD@fema.dhs.gov or toll-free at 833-285-7448.