March 13, 2015

Manchin Visits Yeager Airport Landslide Site

Charleston, W.V. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin visited today the Yeager Airport landslide site to assess damage and learn about developing plans to contain the hillside devastation, prepare for potential widespread flooding, and begin rebuilding the impacted area. Senator Manchin, along with Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and Senator Shelley Moore Capito, met with Airport Director Rick Atkinson, Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper, Commissioner Dave Hardy, Director of Kanawha County Emergency Management Dale Petry, and Director of the Joint Staff of the West Virginia National Guard Brigadier General David Buckalew.

“Today, I toured the devastating landslide site at Yeager Airport and met with Airport Director Rick Atkinson, Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper, Commissioner Dave Hardy, Director of Kanawha County Emergency Management Dale Petry, and Director of the Joint Staff of the West Virginia National Guard Brigadier General David Buckalew. I will be working closely at the federal level with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the situation stabilizes, and I will also be in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to see what resources that agency will be able to provide during the repair and recovery efforts. My staff and I stand ready to do everything we can to help the airport and the local community rebuild, as well as assist those families who have been evacuated from their homes. I thank all of our first responders, engineers, the West Virginia National Guard, and local and state officials for quickly responding to this situation.”

To view photos of Senator Manchin’s visit to the landslide site, please visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JoeManchinIII.

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