{"id":35288,"date":"2026-01-24T20:35:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=35288"},"modified":"2026-01-24T20:34:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:34:28","slug":"trump-emergency-declarations-south-carolina-virginia-winter-storm-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/trump-emergency-declarations-south-carolina-virginia-winter-storm-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Approves Emergency Declarations for South Carolina, Virginia Amid Winter Storm Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background: #f7fafc; padding: 15px;\">\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>President Trump approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia on January 23, 2026, ahead of a severe winter storm.<\/li>\n<li>FEMA is authorized to provide federal aid and coordinate disaster relief, including 75% federal funding for emergency protective measures in South Carolina.<\/li>\n<li>South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on January 21, requesting federal assistance.<\/li>\n<li>The South Carolina Department of Public Health authorized one-time early prescription refills and opened medical power shelters with a 24-hour triage line.<\/li>\n<li>The storm is expected to bring widespread freezing rain and sleet, leading to hazardous road conditions and potential power outages across the affected regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>COLUMBIA, S.C. (Azat TV)<\/b> \u2013 President Donald Trump has approved emergency declarations for both South Carolina and Virginia, activating federal aid and disaster relief efforts through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as these states brace for a severe winter storm forecast to bring ice, sleet, and freezing rain from Saturday evening through Monday morning in late January 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The President&#8217;s action, announced on Saturday, January 23, 2026, followed requests from both state governors, allowing FEMA to coordinate comprehensive disaster relief efforts. This federal support aims to alleviate hardship, protect property, public health, and safety, and mitigate the threat of catastrophe for local populations across all 46 counties of South Carolina, including the Catawba Indian Nation, and similarly across Virginia. The declaration for South Carolina specifically commenced on January 21, 2026, and is ongoing.<\/p>\n<h2>Federal Aid Mobilized for South Carolina and Virginia<\/h2>\n<p>According to the US Department of Homeland Security, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide, at its discretion, necessary equipment and resources. For South Carolina, emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance under the Public Assistance program, will be provided with 75% federal funding. President Trump affirmed these approvals via his social media platform, Truth Social, pledging continued federal assistance and monitoring of all states in the storm&#8217;s path, as reported by <em>Anadolu Agency<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>This federal response comes after South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order on Thursday, January 21, declaring a State of Emergency for his state. Governor McMaster&#8217;s office had formally requested a federal emergency disaster declaration from President Trump, seeking reimbursement of funds for emergency protective measures, authorization for non-congregate shelters, and direct federal assistance for the entire state, according to local affiliate WIS.<\/p>\n<h2>Public Health Preparations and Safety Measures<\/h2>\n<p>In anticipation of the storm&#8217;s impact, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has implemented crucial measures to safeguard residents. The agency announced that a one-time early refill of certain prescriptions (Schedule III to V) would be permitted for medications due through January 30. Dr. Edward Simmer, a DPH official, stated on Saturday that this action was taken &#8216;due to the potential for interruptions of services and to reduce possible danger to individuals traveling following the storm.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, DPH has established a 24-hour triage line (1-833-351-9990), active from Saturday noon, to assist individuals requiring power for medical equipment. The department has also opened specialized shelters providing limited access to backup power for medical reasons. Eligibility for these shelters is restricted to home-dwelling residents with medical conditions necessitating backup power for devices, medication refrigeration, or specialized beds. DPH emphasized that these shelters do not provide healthcare services and require eligible individuals to bring a responsible adult companion and personal daily living items. Only service animals are permitted.<\/p>\n<h2>Historic Storm Threatens Widespread Disruption<\/h2>\n<p>The National Weather Service has warned that the potentially historic winter storm is expected to impact areas from the Southwest through the Northeast, with heavy snowfall anticipated from Oklahoma through southern Maine. The South and Southeast, including South Carolina and Virginia, are forecast to experience widespread freezing rain and sleet. These conditions are expected to lead to hazardous road conditions and potential days-long power outages, particularly across much of the Midlands and Upstate regions of South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump had earlier warned of a &#8216;record cold wave&#8217; expected to strike dozens of states. Residents in the affected areas are strongly encouraged to finalize their emergency plans and limit travel to only absolute necessities, as advised by local authorities like WLTX.<\/p>\n<p><em>The swift coordination between state and federal governments, coupled with proactive public health measures like early prescription refills and specialized shelters, underscores a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the immediate human and infrastructural impacts of predictable severe weather events, aiming to enhance community resilience during crisis.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump has approved emergency declarations for South Carolina and Virginia, mobilizing federal aid and FEMA resources as both states prepare for a severe winter storm expected to bring ice and freezing rain across the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[854,43522,43523,15013,2892,13767,16391,18506,32496],"class_list":["post-35288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","tag-donald-trump","tag-emergency-declaration","tag-federal-aid","tag-fema","tag-public-health","tag-south-carolina","tag-virginia","tag-weather-alert","tag-winter-storm"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/winter-storm-warning-map.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/winter-storm-warning-map.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}