Briana Heaney, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Localities Continue To Help With Floods, Looking For More Assistance

The Kanawha County Commission allocated more money to aid flooded communities and is working with state and local officials to secure more.

Fifty-thousand dollars was approved for West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, or VOAD, to help rebuild personal bridges that were destroyed in the flood. Executive Director Jenny Gannaway requested $40,000 but the commission decided to give more.

“We’ve got families in hotels that we’re providing them. One in particular is a young mom with two small children. Her house was destroyed,” Gannaway said at the meeting. “So we’re trying to help her get into a rental property, close to her job. She lost her car and everything. So we are helping families like they get back in.”

Commission President Kent Carper said this is a one-time payment, but that this is an organization he is happy to continue to support.

“Two reasons why we’re going to do this, I think I’m speaking for everyone. Your reputation is just excellent,” he said. “You just know your business, and you’re effective at getting things done.”

The commission estimates the county has spent $200,000 so far and is putting in a request for reimbursement from the state. Carper said he is hoping to receive support from the state.

“I got several of these nice emails from the legislature, from senators wanting to know what they can do,” Carper said. “Well, they can pay the bill!”

The damage assessment process is ongoing. Homes, bridges, creeks, churches, fire stations, and roads were damaged during the flood. Eight homes were destroyed. Individuals and local communities are struggling to pay for the damage.

Federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) could be on the way if the disaster qualifies. Commissioner Lance Wheeler said that they are working to gather and submit that evidence.

“I’ve been working with the state emergency management,” Wheeler said. “They tell us that they believe these numbers are very close to passing that threshold. And we’re positive at this moment that we will get that FEMA declaration. However, you never know how FEMA is going to operate until they do. So we’re just trying to do as much as possible collecting evidence.”

The commission is asking residents in areas affected by the flood to continue to fill out FEMA surveys because they will help their communities qualify for aid. One hundred and sixty-seven have been collected so far. Surveys are available online, by QR code, and there are paper surveys available at the VOAD center in Quincy.

The commission also voted to extend debris pick up to Friday, September 15 and allocated another $100,000 to the effort. During the weekend, the hours for debris clean-up will be 8 a.m. to – 2 p.m., and during the week 8 a.m. to- 3 p.m.

Wheeler said this is needed because residents are still working to clean out, and around, their homes.

“You know we have to remember that this isn’t just trash. This is personal belongings,” Wheeler said. “This is things that people had in their home, loved items that they had and now they have to get rid of,” Wheeler said.

100,000th Student Registers At Voter Registration Drive

State and local officials helped register students to vote today at Capital High School. Rico Franquez was the 100,000 high school student to register to vote since Secretary of State Mac Warner took office in 2017.

State and local officials helped register students to vote today at Capital High School. Rico Franquez was the 100,000th high school student to register to vote since Secretary of State Mac Warner took office in 2017.

Warner, Elections Divisions Director Brittany Westfall, and County Clerk Vera McCormick talked to students about the importance of civic engagement.

The event also celebrated U.S. Sen. Jennings Randolph who worked to pass the 26th Amendment. Randolph was a West Virginia native and represented the state from 1958 to 1985. Lee Dean impersonated the late senator during the presentation. He said Randolph believed that if U.S. citizens under the age of 21 were old enough to fight then they should be old enough to vote.

“Old enough for Bullets, Old enough for Ballots slogan really resonated with young people at the time and I believe it still does,” Dean said.

Warner said that West Virginia has a legacy of getting young people involved in politics. He named Saira Blair the youngest legislator ever elected, and Caleb Hanna as the youngest African American elected to office.

“When people hear about other 18 and19 year olds getting elected to office, they’re like, well, I could do that, too. And that’s the importance of coming out and telling that story and making them feel part of this proud legacy that West Virginia has,” Warner said.

Warner said that one of the biggest challenges that the state faces is young people moving away.

“We spend all this time and effort educating them. And then when they take off to Charlotte, or Denver or somewhere, we lose that talent,” Warner said. “And so we want to keep them here. And this voter registration drive gives them that opportunity to feel part of the process.”

He said staying engaged with what is happening in the student’s community ties them to those communities.

Any West Virginia high school that registers at least 85 percent of their eligible students to vote will receive the Jennings Randolph Award for Civic Engagement.

After Devastating Floods, Small Communities Take Steps Toward Recovery

Sigman said the quick response from residents, first responders, and state and local officials resulted in better outcomes for the safety of residents. The National Weather Service said it received its first call about flooding at 6:45 a.m. By 7a.m. a warning had been issued and sirens were activated.

The recovery and assessment process began Tuesday in eastern Kanawha County where floods damaged homes, vehicles, bridges, and roadways.

On Wednesday the Kanawha County Commission reported that at least 78 homes were affected, three were destroyed, and seven remain inaccessible according to a survey the commission issued. The commission expects this number to rise as more residents complete the survey, many of whom live in the areas most severely affected.

There were no fatalities from the flood. Emergency Management Director CW Sigman said that’s mostly due to residents making good choices by not attempting to cross streams.

“I know, it was a very scary time for the folks to be in houses with water rushing in back,” said Sigman. “I talked to one lady who had grandchildren on the opposite end of the road she’s on and she was just in tears because she was worried about her grandchildren. But they didn’t get out into the high water and that saves lives.”

The flood flashed quickly, many residents said that it rose faster than any other flood they had seen — rising feet in a matter of hours.

Fast Moving Water Is Powerful

Sigman says that many of the streams that saw the worst flooding like the Slaughter Creek watershed had steep gradient streams. The water moved quickly down into valleys where residential communities live. Sigman says that the water, sediment, and debris it brought with it caused lasting damage to the creek bed and banks.

Sigman visited one of the affected homes where he was told the homeowners had just made their first mortgage payment. The creek behind the home had eroded so severely that it had moved 10 feet closer to their home — possibly putting it at a higher flood risk for future storms.

“That kind of damage is disturbing with how much sediment came with it and how much the creek banks and the hillsides have caved in,” Sigman said.

Water Quality Affected

As water moved through the hills, it collected debris, sediments, bacteria, and chemicals. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department has detected E. Coli in a residential water well that was tainted during Monday’s floods.

The Health Department is encouraging residents to have wells tested for free to avoid ingesting the deadly strain of bacteria.

“I hope this information gets out to residents who clearly have so much going on in their lives right now. We really don’t want an emergency room visit for a E. coli infection to be one more ordeal they have to contend with right now,” said KCHD Health Officer Dr. Steven Eshenaur.

Many of the areas where the rain fell have been heavily mined, which could also affect the quality of the water. A study published in the Journal of Hydrology said that water discharged from active or inactive coal mine sites has higher acidity and can contain heavy metals.

Insurance Payouts And FEMA Disaster Declaration For Small Communities

State and local officials are working to assess damage to homes and infrastructure. Once the process is complete, the localities will send numbers to the governor who can then request a FEMA disaster declaration.

Sigman says there are multiple qualifiers that FEMA is looking for to declare a disaster declaration. For example, the state must meet a threshold of $3 million in damage to infrastructure.

“They look at vulnerability factors. You know you live in an area that has a lot of retired citizens, people with disabilities or other vulnerability factors, FEMA will factor that in,” Sigman said.

Sigman said that FEMA is in place to help a community though the crisis but usually does not work to replace homes or rebuild infrastructure.

Local Response And Plan

The Kanawha County Commission has worked with other agencies and community members to assist flood victims. They are still accepting donations, and say they specifically need contractor grade trash bags, bleach, push brooms, and shovels. They do not accept clothing or cash donations. Supply Distribution points are at Belle Town Hall and Chesapeake Town Hall.

On Tuesday, Curbside Debris Collection will begin in Slaughters Creek, Winifrede-Fields Creek, Witcher Creek, Kelly’s Creek, and Horsemill Hollow. The Kanawha County Planning and Development Office is asking that debris be placed off Private Property, onto the road. The office also asks that residents report damage so that official recovery processes can begin.

Communities Work Together In The Aftermath Of Devastating Floods

“These are our people, we have to help.” WVPB speaks with community members affected by recent flooding in Kanawha County. The communities around Slaughter, Witcher, Fields, Kelly and Horse Mill Creek had six to nine inches of precipitation through Monday morning.

The National Weather Service received its first call about the flooding at 6:45 a.m. Monday after rain blanketed eastern Kanawha County through the weekend.

The storm intensified early Monday, by which point the soil was saturated and water was running off the mountain. The communities around Slaughter, Witcher, Fields, Kelly and Horse Mill Creek had six to nine inches of precipitation through Monday morning.

As the water moved down the hills and into creeks beds, it brought debris with it. The more water, the more debris.

Eventually those waterways backed up, and when the water had nowhere else to go, it went into people’s homes, cars, farms and gardens.

Ray Lyons’ home is off Kelly Creek in Mammoth, the location that saw the most rain during the storm Monday. Flood waters came within five feet of his house and flooded his acre-wide vegetable and fruit garden.

“It just came up so fast. Within two hours — and it just kept coming,” Lyons said.

He said during the rain he worked to keep debris, like logs and large mud deposits, out of the road in front of his house so that cars could get through — and escape the flooding.

Eventually the road became too deep with water to pass.

“A lot of people couldn’t get through, and that, oh, that was terrible,” he said.

After the flood, Lyon and his cousin worked with an excavator to dig debris out of the creek to help drain water off the land.

“State [crews] didn’t come up. But you know, I can take care of it, I have lived up this holler my whole life,” he said.

Further downstream from Lyon’s home, in the town of Cedar Creek, the water breached the banks and flooded the land around the confluence of Horsemill Creek and Kelly Creek.

Most of the damage in the area that was accessible Tuesday was a gravel parking lot. It had been completely stripped of gravel during the floods and was a muddy bog on Tuesday.

Ken Barton was on site, leaning against a dump truck with a cane in hand. He used to be mayor, but on Tuesday he was working with construction crews wearing bright yellow “Town of Cedar Creek” shirts and reflective overalls.

“You can see where all the mud and everything is,” Lyon said. “The water came out this way, pushed all this stuff over here.”

He said the mayor asked him and the rest of the crew to head down and help the state crews. His crews worked alongside state crews to clean up the damage and restore the banks of the creek.

“These are our people, we have to help,” Barton said.

Several homes were lost, and more were damaged in Monday’s flood.

On Monday, there were more than 700 calls and 22 water rescues. Some towns saw roadways turn into rivers. Access to these towns is still limited as of Wednesday, and crews are working to open roadways that were blocked by fallen trees and mudslides.

The damage assessment process began Tuesday, and officials are beginning the process of working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other national and state agencies to get money back to the communities to help with recovery and cleanup.

Agencies Brace For Flooding With More Rain On The Way

Many of the areas that saw flooding Monday are on track for more rain Tuesday and into the night.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Many of the areas that saw flooding Monday are on track for more rain Tuesday and into the night.

Jennifer Berryman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said light rain is expected thoughout the day in central and southern West Virginia with heavier rain possible into the evening.

The Division of Emergency Management, National Guard, Metro 911, Emergency Operations Center and the National Weather Service are all standing by waiting to see what storms develop and where.

There is a 60-80 percent chance of rain over central, eastern and southern West Virginia. Berryman said that storms are tracking to cross over Charleston up to Clarksburg, and other cells to move over Fayette County down to McDowell County.

She said that the weather service still doesn’t know how much precipitation these fronts will deliver to those areas.

Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler was at the Emergency Operations Center at Kanawha County Metro 911 Monday and said that those agencies are fully staffed and ready to assist if another heavy rain does cause more flooding.

“The big question is — is the storm front going to move though or is it going to hover over the area and drop a lot of rain?” said Wheeler.

He said after four days of rain the soil is completely saturated.

“The ground can only take so much water,” Wheeler said. “When this rain comes a third time, it’s going to roll right off the hill and it’s going to fill in these valleys and this river, and it’s going to bring that water level even higher. So, what we could see is maybe less rain coming in, but more potential for hazard.”

Wheeler advised residents not to underestimate the potential danger and to have a plan for Tuesday evening if there are more floods.

“So, we told people, take this seriously, this isn’t like your casual floods that you’ve seen in the past. This is the most rain many of these areas have seen in a lifetime,” Wheeler said.

He encouraged residents to listen for flood alert sirens and stay vigilant of any flooding even if it is not yet at the door. He cautioned the water can rise quickly. He also advised to not cross any streams and instead call for a water rescue.

Wheeler said before they can start cleaning up and assessing damage, they are putting resources towards preparedness for another possible heavy rainfall.

West Virginia’s National Guard’s Edwin “Bo” Wriston said they are reaching out to see if they are needed for immediate help but are not doing damage assessments at this time.

Wriston said they are waiting to see what the storm front brings and if the governor calls them back into action.

Flooded Communities Face Uncertainty With More Rain On The Way

Flooding throughout the day Monday caused significant damage to roads, houses and bridges in central and southern West Virginia. There have been no deaths reported so far due to flooding. Officials are still working to assess damage. Many houses were flooded, and some were washed away.

Updated on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.

Flooding throughout the day caused significant damage to roads, houses and bridges in central and southern West Virginia.

There have been no deaths reported so far due to flooding. Officials are still working to assess damage. Many houses were flooded and some were washed away.

Communities along Witcher Creek, Slaughter Creek and Fields Creek saw some of the most significant flooding. Waters have retreated back to creeks and rivers — where flows remain dangerously high. However, with more rain likely this evening and tomorrow, flood advisories remain active.

The National Weather Service said another inch of rain could be on the way Monday night.

Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler was at the Emergency Operations Center at Kanawha County Metro 911. He said fire departments in Charleston and Fayette and Cabell counties are waiting to see what the weather does, and where the water goes.

“Everybody’s still on standby. They are looking at what water is coming and what it’s going to look like and if there are going to be more evacuations necessary,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler said this amount of rainfall — 6-9 inches in affected areas — coupled with already saturated soil from a rainy weekend made the floods an especially dangerous situation.

“So, the flooding has been enormous at this point,” he said. “If there’s anyone out there who thinks that this is just a small flood that hit this area, they’re drastically wrong.”

Kanawha County officials say that from 6:45 a.m., when the Kanawha County Metro 911 started receiving calls, until 4 p.m., there were more than 700 calls and 22 water rescues. Assessors have not released official numbers, but Wheeler said that around 60 homes were washed away in the floods.

Jenna Sigmon lives along one of the most heavily flooded creeks, Slaughter Creek, and said she is used to floods, but this one is one of the worst she has ever seen.

“It was like kind of crazy, because we just woke up this morning and there was massive floods,” she said. “And the water came up over the bank all into our yard.”

Her house was flooded. Sigmon went over to a neighbor’s house across the road to get away from the water, but the water ended up crossing the street over to that house as well.

“It just kept rising and rising. Like two feet within ten minutes,” said Sigmon.

The water did eventually recede, but her yard and others around were bogged with water. She said she was expecting a flood, but not one this bad.

If you or anyone you know needs assistance escaping flooding, call 911 or (304) 348–8111 to reach the Metro 911 Emergency flood line.

Original Post: Flash Flood Emergency Declared In Several W.Va. Counties

The National Weather Service Monday issued a flash flood emergency for Kanawha County that is considered life threatening. It also issued flash flood warnings for parts of Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, and Roane counties. The National Weather Service says residents should seek higher ground and avoid flooded areas.

Gov. Jim Justice declared a State of Emergency in those counties. Heavy rainfall over the weekend and throughout Monday morning has caused flash floods that have damaged homes, roads, and bridges in affected areas. There are reports of high water along Witcher Creek in eastern Kanawha County.

The West Virginia Emergency Management Division has implemented an emergency plan to mobilize appropriate personnel and resources to respond to the emergency.

The National Guard is working to prepare for emergency dispatch with arial assets like helicopters, swift water rescues teams, and extra personnel. Kanawha County’s Emergency Operations Center is actively working to assist with water rescues and other emergency assistance.

The West Virginia Division of Highways is working to assist residents and clear the road from culverts, mudslides, and other damage from heavy rains throughout affected counties. Mudslides closed both lanes of US 60 in Belle and on the West Virginia Turnpike near Chelyan at Mile Marker 85.5 where the southbound right lane is closed.

FEMA, local officials, and other organizations are also working to offer aid to residents needing assistance.