Youngkin says Southwest Virginia facing ‘all-hands moment’ as another storm approaches

Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Southwest Virginia is experiencing an “all-hands moment,” as it braces for a winter storm that could bring more snow to the region while work continues to recover from widespread flooding over the weekend. 

Southwest Virginia, a region that is still recovering from severe damage caused in September by Hurricane Helene-related weather, was hit with a debilitating ice storm followed by widespread flooding from rainstorms in mid-February. 

The weekend flood destroyed homes, washed out roads and led to at least one death. It is the latest out of four major flooding events to hit the region since 2021. As of Tuesday, water was still high but receding. 

The region is expected to get up to six inches of snow in a winter storm that is predicted to hit the commonwealth Wednesday into Thursday morning. 

Youngkin had visited the region on Friday along with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears after the ice storm. Youngkin returned on Sunday to survey the damage from the flood. 

Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, also traveled through Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan and Tazewell counties on Tuesday to survey the damage from the weekend flood. 

“The damage resulting from the weekend storms is considerable,” he said in a statement.  “I will continue to advocate for this region and use every resource at my disposal to ensure recovery efforts are sufficiently supported,” he said. 

The coming storm

The governor noted that the impending snowstorm will hit the Southwest region of the state first, possibly starting at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday. Youngkin said the storm could be a 24-hour weather event. 

“If you are not where you want to be by midnight tonight, don’t go. Stay at home and make sure that you have good provisions at home, but I do not want anyone on the roads after midnight tonight,” he said. “Stay off the roads tomorrow and let us do our work.”

The Virginia Department of Transportation has begun pre-treating roads across the state and resources have been “repositioned.” State workers and agencies already present in the Southwest region to help with ice, flood and clean-up work will remain there to help with the coming snowstorm. 

The governor said emergency management teams across that commonwealth have set up emergency management centers to help coordinate support. His administration has also been working with local governments to make sure homeless shelters are open, advertised, fully functioning and stocked with supplies, Youngkin said. 

The Virginia National Guard was deployed to Southwest Virginia to help with flooding recovery and will remain there through the storm. Guardsmen with transport and debris removal vehicles will also be deployed into Lynchburg for the coming storm. State police are now on a 24-hour shift notice, which means everyone is working. 

“We have had a very, very busy emergency management season starting last September with Hurricane Helene. What I have recognized is Virginians are extraordinary, our first responders are extraordinary, those that work in clean-up afterwards are extraordinary, and so we will get through this,” Youngkin said. 

Griffith commended Youngkin’s effort to prepare ahead of the coming winter storm. 

“He exercised a proactive approach to prepare the region for the weekend storms, as well as the coming winter storm,” Griffith said in a statement.

The devastation in numbers from the mid-February storms

The ice storm knocked out power for 450,000 customers across Virginia, up from 315,000 people who experienced power outages in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Youngkin said. 

“We had more power outages across the commonwealth of Virginia than we had in one of the most intense hurricane events that we’ve ever dealt with,” he said. 

Heavy rain and flooding knocked out power to about 200,000 customers over the weekend and caused a widespread drinking water advisory in the Southwest region. About 2,500 customers remained without power across the state, and Youngkin estimated that about 15 or more areas in the Southwest remained under a drinking water advisory as of Tuesday morning. 

Youngkin noted that there continue to be road closures across Southwest Virginia. About 408 roads were closed due to flooding over the weekend, and as of Tuesday morning, 149 roads remained closed. Youngkin said those roads were mainly secondary. 

“We still have lots of areas in Southwest Virginia, particularly in Buchanan and Dickenson County where we just don’t have access yet and that’s really serious,” he said. 

A state of emergency was declared, Youngkin said, and that will continue into the coming snowstorm.

Youngkin did make a formal request for an accelerated declaration of emergency from the federal government regarding the flood in the Southwest region. The governor said that request was being processed as of Tuesday morning. He said a damage assessment needs to be submitted along with that request and that assessment is still in process. 

Griffith has worked together with Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, to push the Trump Administration to approve Governor Youngkin’s request for an expedited Major Disaster Declaration, Griffith said. 

“So many of the roads are still under water, therefore the assessment has to wait until the water recedes,” Youngkin said. 

Individual home damage, public facility damage and other road damage are currently being assessed. 

“I was hoping to get all of that done this week. This snowstorm is going to interrupt that process,” he said.