Richmond, Va. – Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe visited Appomattox, Waverly and Tappahannock on Thursday to survey storm damage left behind by Wednesday’s severe weather and meet with first responders.
Appomattox County – Route 460
McAuliffe was scheduled to be at Evergreen Baptist Church in Appomattox at 11:15 a.m. He was at the Sussex County Housing Office in Waverly at 1:00 p.m. And he is scheduled to be at the Essex County Emergency Operations Center in Tappahannock at 2:25 p.m.
Governor Terry McAuliffe (Photo: Brian Hill)
The governor declared a State of Emergency for the Commonwealth on Wednesday evening in order to aid response and recovery for the hardest hit areas. That declaration allows public safety agencies including the Virginia National Guard, Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Virginia Department of Transportation to use any available resource for storm response and recovery.
Late Wednesday, the Virginia National Guard began alerting soldiers to go on state active duty to provide assistance. More than 50 soldiers will be organized into debris reduction teams and equipped with chainsaws and Humvees to help local emergency response organizations clear fallen trees and other debris.
They will also have a rotary wing aviation support on standby to provide aerial damage assessment if needed.
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