Flood Victims to Petition FEMA on Friday

• Press release from Mexicans Without Borders: 

Families who lost everything in the recent Holly Acres Trailer Park flooding in Woodbridge will present a petition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asking that thebe reversed. 

On Friday, Nov. 18 at 11:30 a.m., The families will gather outside FEMA headquarters with picket signs asking for federal disaster aid for families living in the 66 homes condemned following the flood. The families will attempt to deliver petitions to FEMA asking that the decision be reversed. Although the community response following the flood was immediate and generous, the scale of the disaster has overwhelmed the ability of the Prince William to respond adequately.

Two months later, at least 15 families have received no financial support and the majority of the families, involving several hundred individuals, are still without permanent housing. 

According to John Steinbach, a volunteer with Woodbridge Workers Committee, “Had a flood of this magnitude occurred in an affluent neighborhood with large modern homes, it is likely that FEMA’s decision would have been different. The severe shortage of affordable housing in the area is compounding this tragedy.”