Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has requested federal assistance for two Louisa County schools that were damaged during the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Virginia on August 23.
Thomas Jefferson Elementary and Louisa High are closed indefinitely, and the county has provided temporary facilities for students until the schools are repaired.
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Engineers hired by the county have pegged the damage at $31 million. This disaster assistance would help state and local governments recover costs associated with the earthquake response, such as damage to infrastructure, debris removal and emergency services.
The federal government has already denied Mr. McDonnell’s request for individual assistance for people whose homes were damaged from the earthquake, and he will formally appeal the Oct. 7 decision later this week. New estimates from the county say that the average repair bill for homes with “minor” damage is about $8,500 and for the hardest-hit homes, $73,000.
The coming appeal and federal assistance for Louisa was among the topics Mr. McDonnell chatted about with President Obama when the president swung through the state on his campaign-style bus tour last week.
