The state plans to increase the funding caps in a flood recovery program for people in Southwest Virginia as they continue to rebuild from the inland effects of Hurricane Helene in 2024 and flooding in February 2025.
The Department of Housing and Community Development on Friday published pending changes to the Virginia Disaster Assistance Fund that included a higher cap for people seeking help to rebuild retaining walls and access bridges. The state’s housing department is taking public comment on the proposed updates until Oct. 2.
Under the proposed changes, the funding cap to repair or rebuild access bridges would be increased from $50,000 to $100,000 and the cap to repair and rebuild retaining walls to stabilize slopes would be increased from $50,000 to $69,500. The cap for combined assistance per applicant, to repair or rebuild both an access bridge and retaining walls, would also be increased, from $79,000 to $115,000.
Scott Wampler, executive director of the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission, applauded the proposed changes to the program. The Department of Housing and Community Development, which manages the assistance fund, distributes money to repair or rebuild infrastructure through regional planning district commissions.
“The proposed state guideline amendments will potentially qualify several dozen existing applicants for aid through the Virginia Disaster Assistance Fund. We look forward to helping property owners navigate these programmatic changes where storm-related recovery needs remain unmet,” Wampler said via email on Tuesday.
Del. William Morefield, R-Tazewell County, said that the proposed changes would help streamline the application process and get assistance to flood victims who have been waiting for help.
“Not a single program is perfect and every situation presents different challenges, but this is a move in the right direction. We have years of experience creating flood relief programs and I do appreciate the governor and her administration for being willing to listen to our concerns and approving the changes,” he said via text message. “I wish that it were as easy as just approving the funding and issuing checks, but it’s not. It is a complicated process when working across party lines.”
As of Thursday, when the governor’s office first announced that changes were likely to be made to the program, more than $42 million of the $50 million allocated for flood relief had not yet been disbursed. Applications for the program opened more than a year ago.
Cardinal News first reported on the funding delays last month.
Of the $50 million total, half was earmarked for homeowners who need to repair or replace damaged or destroyed homes and half to help property owners replace infrastructure such as retaining walls and bridges.
As of mid-September, $110,376 across five applications had been doled out or conditionally approved for disbursal through the infrastructure side of the program.
The initial funding caps presented a barrier to more residents getting help for infrastructure work. Almost 60% of the applications for aid had been denied as of mid-June because the cost of the work would exceed those caps.
Proposed guideline changes also reflect amended budget language on floodplain standards passed during the 2026 legislative session and the removal of a previous requirement for bridge design to meet the standards for a 500-year flood.
The proposed changes come after Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office met with local leaders, agencies and stakeholders to review barriers to funding through the assistance program, the governor’s office said.
The Virginia General Assembly had allocated the $50 million during its 2025 legislative session for recovery following widespread flooding across Southwest Virginia due to Hurricane Helene in 2024 and heavy rains from a winter storm in 2025.
