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Ground gives way beneath home, couple flee with nothing
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN GRASSY, Ky. — John and Lisa Mollett fled for their lives Saturday as the ground beneath their home gave way, splitting the foundation and crumbling the back wall and floor into the shifting soil below. They left with the clothes on their backs. Their house, perched along Old Route 3…
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FEMA home buyout offers path to ‘higher ground’
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Deputy Judge/Executive Carolea Mills says the FEMA home buyout program can move residents out of the flood and onto higher ground. “This program’s whole mission is to get residents who have been flooded to higher ground,” Mills said. “It is for people who feel trapped—because no one…
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Rising from the flood: Calf Creek United Baptist rebuilds after devastation
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN “And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.” —Nehemiah 2:18 INEZ — Pastor Maurice Mills could only watch helplessly as the Tug River surged past its banks and destroyed his church in Inez this February. “This is backwater from the…
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Saying he is ‘grateful’ to lawmakers, Beshear signs bill for Kentucky flood aid into law
by McKenna Horsley, Kentucky LanternMarch 31, 2025 Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law that sets up a new state aid fund for Kentucky communities affected by recent floods, though he has said the bill “isn’t enough.” House Bill 544, which received final passage in the General Assembly Friday with bipartisan support, establishes a…
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Flood leaves Martin County’s water and sewer systems in ruins; repairs to cost millions
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN MARTIN COUNTY — The February flood that swept through Martin County, swelling Tug Fork River, left the county’s water and sewer infrastructure heavily damaged. Officials expect repair costs to approach $3 million. Floodwaters inundated the sewer treatment plant in Warfield as well as lift stations, grinder pumps and other critical…
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Mingo County among four declared major disaster areas
BY KYLE LOVERN MOUNTAIN CITIZEN MINGO COUNTY, W.Va. — Mingo County is one of the four counties in West Virginia to have a major disaster declaration approved by the Trump Administration. Some residents felt it took too long. However, officials say that sometimes it takes time to get the paperwork and other necessary documents finished…
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IGA faces total loss in devastating flood
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WARFIELD — The IGA grocery store in Warfield is facing a total loss after floodwaters surged through its walls rising 5 feet inside the building between Feb. 16 and 17 and leaving behind a trail of destruction. On Monday, co-owner Judy Ousley stood inside the store, where employees had begun…
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FEMA assistance at Warfield Park Community Center
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT WARFIELD — Federal emergency officials will be at the Warfield Park Community Center on Tuesday, Feb. 25, and Wednesday, Feb. 26, beginning at 9:30 a.m. to assist individuals affected by recent storms and flooding, Martin County officials announced on Facebook. Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide “disaster assistance, recovery…
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Holler to Holler, Hand in Hand
BY JOSHUA BALL There’s a moment when the world, a region, stands still. When the rain won’t stop. When the rivers swell, creeping higher and higher until they are no longer rivers at all… but walls of water, tearing through everything in their path. Homes, memories, lifetimes… gone in an instant. And then comes the…
Tag: disaster
