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Fairmont and the surrounding area are recovering from the second major flooding incident that devastated communities in northern West Virginia over the weekend.
Flash flooding began late Saturday evening in Ohio County, with roughly 3-4 inches of rain falling in the area in a short period of time. Flash flooding then continued during the day Sunday in Marion County, with up to 3 inches of rain in Fairmont alone in a short period of time.
No deaths have been reported in connection to the flooding in Marion County, but Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday there are now six confirmed dead in Ohio County.
Search and rescue efforts continued throughout the day, and National Guard are now deployed in both counties to help with assessing damage and beginning cleanup operations.
Photo Credit: Chris Schulz/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
“There’s a cycle to these disasters. Sometimes you have people after the immediacy of the moment where the water is really high, the focus is on identifying the individuals. As the water’s receding, (you) have a lot of these search and rescues,” Morrisey said. “But then you have to follow up with debris clearing, and that takes a bit of time. That process has been underway, and we’re going to keep working hard to help as many people with all these areas.”
More than 1,500 customers remained without power in Ohio County late Monday afternoon. Authorities said Sunday that damaged natural gas lines were delaying the restoration of power, but Morrisey said they hoped to fully restore service by 11 p.m. Monday.
FEMA has been notified and Morrisey said his administration is working with them to ensure the region is ready to receive any additional assistance from the federal government. Officials in both counties are asking residents affected by the floods to fill out individual assistance damage surveys to best understand localized impact.
Morrisey said once assessments are done and recovery is underway, the state can begin to look at how to mitigate future flooding events.
“What you want to do in a situation like this is you want to first do all the damage assessments from this and then do a retrospective review to look at all the different things and see where proper decision making prevention can make a big difference in some cases, certainly it can,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the WV Governor’s Office
The West Virginia Democratic Party released a statement extending condolences to the communities and families affected by the floods, but also called on the governor and lawmakers to take action. They highlighted the West Virginia Flood Resiliency Trust Fund, a reserve designed to help mitigate future flood risks, improve stormwater infrastructure, and better prepare vulnerable communities for the next storm.
House Minority Leader Delegate Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, tried to add funding for that reserve into the budget during this year’s regular session, but his amendment was voted down.
“In West Virginia, it’s not a matter of if we’ll see flooding — it’s when and where,” Hornbuckle said in the release. “We have the data, we have the plans, and we have a fund already on the books. What we don’t have is the political will from Republican leadership to invest in our people’s safety. My amendment would have put real money not only toward responding to flood disasters just like the one we experienced this weekend but more importantly preventative and preparedness measures.”
Morrisey visited the Fairmont Village Apartments, where flooding caused the collapse of one of the building’s walls, displacing at least 60 residents. The building is located just across the street from the main entrance to Fairmont State University (FSU), and the school has opened its facilities to act as a temporary shelter for those affected by the damage.
Monday afternoon residents of the building identified their belongings amidst a heap of debris from behind a police cordon.
Heather Morris was home when the wall collapsed. She said it was chaos as neighbors tried to help each other out of the building through the floodwaters.
“It was like a horror movie. The bottom started filling up super fast,” Morris said. “The door shut, trapped people in the bottom. We were just running around trying to get what we could. I mean, it was, it was awful.”
Her neighbor, Michael Mead could see his clothes still hanging in his ruined apartment, now visible from the lawn. He was frustrated he could not recover his belongings, and said he was receiving mixed messages from police on scene and from building management.
“They’ve not told us nothing,” Mead said. “Every time I ask if, when they start to clean up, if we can come sort through it and try to salvage what we can, they say, Oh, you don’t want that stuff, but that’s everything we have. And y’all aren’t paying us for nothing.”
Photo Credit: Chris Schulz/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Support and donations have poured in from across the region. Cassie Owens was collecting clothes and other household items on the hill behind the apartment building, and said she had received donations from as far away as Virginia and Pittsburgh. On social media Monday afternoon, FSU and United Way of Tygart Valley announced the need for clothing had already been met by donations, and asked for those donating to focus on hygiene items and cleaning materials.
Jason Keeling, executive director of the American Red Cross of Allegheny – which is helping to run the shelter at FSU – echoed that material donations are appreciated but not always effective.
“Monetary donations can be most helpful, because physical goods can pile up and can overrun a facility, frankly,” Keeling said. “So monetary donations are the most helpful thing to go toward again, those clients who have been affected and the expenses that go to directly service them and simply redcross.org/donate or calling 1-800 Red Cross (800-733-2767) is the best way to make those contributions.”
Keeling also welcomed those interested to volunteer, now or in the future, and to visit redcross.org/volunteer for more information.