Not helping

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has again denied Virginia's request for aid following a string of tornadoes in April that left ten people dead, hundreds of homes destroyed and more than 1,000 others damaged.

FEMA denied Gov. Bob McDonnell's original request for federal disaster assistance in April, but the governor appealed to FEMA again on May 19, asking the agency to reconsider its refusal. McDonnell asked the agency to grant assistance to Halifax, Pulaski, and Washington Counties.

"I am very disappointed that FEMA denied our appeals for disaster assistance to help Virginian's recover from the April tornadoes," McDonnell said on June 24. "The denial of assistance will definitely have an impact on those struggling to recover."

Volunteer groups have been working in the hard hit areas since the severe weather struck on April 8.

"Despite this decision by the federal government, I know that Virginians will continue to work together to help their fellow citizens who are still in need almost two months after these storms have faded from the headlines," McDonnell said.

FEMA administrator W. Craig Fugate said that the damage to buildings and property was not severe enough to merit a disaster declaration, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He added in a letter to McDonnell that the damage was "not beyond the combined capabilities of the commonwealth, affected local governments and voluntary agencies."

On Thursday, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) approved McDonnell's request for low-interest loans for homeowners, renters and businesses that sustained damage from the tornadoes. The loans are available to people in Pulaski and Washington counties. Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Russell, Scott, Smyth and Wythe Counties and the cities of Bristol and Radford are also eligible to apply for the low-interest loans.

The SBA will provide real property loans of up to $200,000 to repair homes and personal property loans of up to $40,000 to replace personal property such as vehicles.

"These low-interest loans will be a great help for many of those still recovering," McDonnell said. "However, they will not help everyone and Virginians must still lend a helping hand to those working to recover from these storms wherever we can."

McDonnell established the Virginia Disaster Relief Fund to raise money for charitable groups that are helping Virginians recover. McDonnell announced in May that $600,000 in state savings will be added to the fund to go towards rebuilding the affected areas.

Tax deductible donations can be made here (http://disasterrelief.vi.virginia.gov/).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Share your thoughts or follow us on Twitter and Facebook today!