West Virginia floods trigger National Guard rescue push
Gov. Patrick Morrisey deployed 500 Guard members after flash floods swamped northern West Virginia, with more than 100 rescues and some residents unaccounted for.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
3 min read
West Virginia sent 500 National Guard members into flood-hit communities after torrential rain swamped homes, businesses and roads in the northern part of the state, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Wednesday.
Morrisey declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties Tuesday night as crews searched for residents and pulled people from floodwater. More than 100 people had been rescued, according to the governor, and 19 National Guard and state police helicopters were either working rescue missions or ready to launch.
At a news conference, Morrisey said officials did not yet have a firm count of people who may be missing. Asked whether anyone was unaccounted for, he said officials were “concerned about fatalities” and would provide details when they had verified information.
Three shelters opened Wednesday and were housing more than 100 residents in total, Morrisey said.
Rain fell faster than the ground could take
Forecasters said parts of West Virginia received up to 7 inches of rain. Morrisey said some places saw 4.5 inches fall in 37 minutes, overwhelming communities where the ground had already been soaked by storms that dropped more than 2 inches statewide on Saturday.
“There’s no place for the water to go,” Morrisey said.
Although the rain had moved out by Wednesday, flood warnings remained in several counties, especially for low-lying places and areas near rivers and creeks. Flood watches were also posted across a broad area from eastern Tennessee through Virginia and North Carolina.
The storms were part of a wider system that stretched from the Cincinnati area to New Jersey and the New York City suburbs. The weather also produced tornado reports, including at least 14 reported tornadoes across six states Tuesday, according to the report. In central Ohio, damaging winds tore the roof off a church east of Columbus, and trees came down in parts of New York.
Cars, roads and businesses under water
Images and video shared on social media showed vehicles sitting in flooded parking lots, including at a Walmart in Weston, where muddy water reached deep into the store. A nearby hotel’s main floor was also flooded, according to the report.
Emergency crews reported dozens of rescues involving people trapped in submerged vehicles. Some rescuers could not reach certain areas because floodwater had cut off access, according to the report.
Flooding forced closures on parts of Interstate 79, U.S. Route 48 and many secondary roads. In Fayetteville, a storm-caused sinkhole swallowed a vehicle at a bar, according to the report.
Lewis and Upshur counties, which have about 40,000 residents combined, saw emergency communications surge late Tuesday as first responders carried out water rescues into Wednesday, Lewis County Commissioner Agnes Quinn Queen said. In a social media post, she wrote that devastation across the county was extensive.
Some communities were still waiting for water levels to fall before setting up donation drop-off sites. Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner said West Virginia Wesleyan College would be one location for donations.
“This is heartbreaking,” Skinner said. “This is not something you want to see in your hometown. But we will get past it. We will get through it.”
A U.S. Geological Survey gauge showed Sand Run, a creek tributary near Buckhannon, rose to a record level, surpassing its mark from the November 1985 flood event that left 47 people dead statewide. Tuesday’s storms also came 10 years after 23 people died when heavy rain fell for hours over the same areas.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.