6 Drought-Stricken States Declared Disaster Areas

With a yearlong drought showing no signs of letting up, federal officials on Monday declared West Virginia and parts of five neighboring states disaster areas.

The damage was apparent here as Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman stood at the edge of a stunted cornfield producing sickly 3-inch ears.

“Drought is like an insidious cancer,” he said. “It’s slow, it infects and it’s harder to deal with as a disaster.”

The federal declaration, which could be expanded this week, makes farmers in West Virginia eligible for low-interest loans, along with their counterparts in drought-stricken parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

President Clinton said he would work with Congress to provide $10 billion in drought relief, and he said efforts are being made to help farmers get water and hay for their livestock.

Although the heat wave blamed for nearly 200 deaths in 20 Eastern states let up in many places Monday, officials said there’s no substantial rainfall in sight in the places that need it most.

The National Weather Service said rainfall levels in West Virginia range from 5 inches to 13 inches below normal.

“We would need about 15 inches of rain to make up for the loss, but the damage is already done,” said West Virginia Agriculture Secretary Guy Douglass.

The state’s farm losses have surpassed $100 million, and this year may put as many as 10% of West Virginia’s 21,000 farmers out of business, Douglass said.

From tree nurseries to fruit orchards, the arid weather has sucked the life out of crops, causing limbs to wilt and fruit to fall off branches.

New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman also issued a drought warning Monday.