Oceana, WV to receive $2.6 million in FEMA funds to rebuild public pool damaged in 2025 floods

by Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch
February 2, 2026

The town of Oceana, in Wyoming County, West Virginia, is set to receive $2.6 million in federal funds that will allow the community to rebuild a community pool that was severely damaged in last February’s flooding.

The $2.6 million in grant funds coming to Oceana is part of $19.6 million total being released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security for past disasters in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

Lilian Hutchinson, the acting regional administrator for FEMA Region 3, said the funds were released through the agency’s public assistance program and were possible thanks to a federal presidential declaration being made following last year’s devastating flooding. The state is the “main recipient” for the funds, Hutchinson said, and as such state representatives will work with officials in Oceana — a subapplicant for the fund — to begin paying for the recovery.

Representatives for Oceana could not be reached for this story.

Last February’s flooding hit the state’s southern coalfields, parts of Virginia and eastern Kentucky. It cost three people their lives in West Virginia — and more than 20 in Kentucky — and destroyed numerous structures. West Virginia’s coalfield counties hold the highest flooding risks in the state, threatening residents as well as homes and businesses.

The Gilliland Park and Pool in Oceana — a public recreational space for those in the area — was severely damaged, according to local news reports from the time. Local leaders told WVNS 59News that mud and water from the flood reached heights higher than the lifeguard chairs sitting above the pool. Picnic tables at the park were swept up in flood waters. Some playground equipment was also lost. 

Per the park’s Facebook page, the pool remained operational for the 2025 summer season.

The money released this week will specifically go toward permanent replacements for the pool itself, the deck and a concrete wall. 

Hutchinson said the release of the funds represents a “very exciting opportunity” for the community, which can now focus on moving forward and rebuilding. Though it’s been nearly a year since the damage took place, Hutchinson said it takes time to ensure requests made through the public assistance program are eligible to be funded and that the amount requested is appropriate for the damage incurred.

“We have to make sure that we’re doing our due diligence, that the federal funds are going to something that is eligible and reasonable to be covered,” Hutchinson said.

Per a news release from FEMA, the agency plans to “continue to review additional projects” arising from last year’s flood. Funds will be released on a “rolling basis as eligibility is confirmed and scopes of work are finalized.”

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.