Importance of the Issue

On this date, January 27, 2022, I declare that a state of emergency exists in the

Commonwealth of Virginia to prepare and coordinate our response to severe winter weather. The

Virginia Emergency Operations Center has been actively monitoring the movement of a late

week nor'easter heading toward Virginia, with anticipated arrival the evening of Friday, January

28, 2022. The National Weather Service is still refining its forecasts based on real-time data, but

initial forecasts are predicting impactful to highly impactful snow and high winds across broad

swaths of the Commonwealth, and coastal flooding along the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic

Ocean coastlines. These forecasts include higher impacts in the same areas affected by recent

events over the last several weeks. This upcoming nor'easter is likely to include additional

severely strained by the several back to back events. The Virginia Emergency Support Team

plans to activate for this incident.

The anticipated effects of this situation constitute a disaster as described in § 44-146.16

of the Code of Virginia (Code). Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Article V,

Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia, by §§ 44-146.17 and 44-75.1 of the Code, as Governor

and Director of Emergency Management and Commander-in-Chief of the Commonwealth’s

armed forces, I proclaim a state of emergency. Accordingly, I direct state and local governments

to render appropriate assistance to prepare for this event, to alleviate any conditions resulting

from the situation, and to implement recovery and mitigation operations and activities so as to

recovery measures, I order the following actions:

1. Implementation by state agencies of the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency

Operations Plan, as amended, along with other appropriate state plans.

2. Activation of the Virginia Emergency Operations Center and the Virginia Emergency

Support Team, as directed by the State Coordinator of Emergency Management, to

coordinate the provision of assistance to state, local, and tribal governments and to

facilitate emergency services assignments to other agencies.

3. Authorization for the heads of executive branch agencies, on behalf of their regulatory

5. Authorization of a maximum of $1,000,000.00 in state sum sufficient funds for state and

local government mission assignments and state response and recovery operations

authorized and coordinated through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management

allowable by The Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq. Included in this authorization is

$500,000.00 for the Department of Military Affairs, if it is called to State Active Duty.

6. Activation of the Virginia National Guard to State Active Duty.

Effective Date of this Executive Order

This Executive Order shall be effective January 27, 2022, and shall remain in full

force and in effect until February 26, 2022, unless sooner amended or rescinded by further

executive order. Termination of this Executive Order is not intended to terminate any federal

type benefits granted or to be granted due to injury or death as a result of service under this

Attest:

Kay Coles James, Secretary of the Commonwealth