Rachel Taylor stands on the front porch of her little yellow house in White Sulphur Springs. The front door is pasted with paw prints where her dog tried to get in during the flood.
Across the street, nestled between two battered houses, is an empty lot marked by a cross with an array of flowers and photos. It’s a memorial for a family washed away by the flood.
The dog? He survived the flood and is now with family in Kentucky. Taylor’s across-the-street neighbors, the Nicelys, did not.
“When I start feeling overwhelmed with this, I just look across the street at that memorial and I think, there’s nothing that we have lost that can’t be replaced or mended,” she said.
Taylor gestured at her gutted living room. She and her husband spent seven years renovating this 1930s Craftsman house, room by room. They were just about done with renovations when their house was flooded a few weeks ago.
“You know, the first couple of days it was very intense. It was kind of crisis mode. Maybe that’s the way I would describe it, because you didn’t really have time to think about it and process it,” said Taylor.
Once the full extent of the damage set in, Taylor said she developed severe nausea and carsickness to the point of not being able to drive.
Credit Kara Lofton / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A memorial for the Nicely’s sits across the street from Rachel Taylor’s White Sulphur Springs home.
“Talking to different people, they said, ‘That’s probably your nerves – you know, the stress level.’ You don’t realize your body is just having a response to this, [which] isn’t normal for you,” she said.
Taylor has flood insurance that will allow her to rebuild, but she said her family will likely move out of the neighborhood once the home is restored or ready for sale.
“I think the words we use when we talk about it are ‘I don’t know if I have it in me,’ ‘I’m not sure if I can do it again,’ things like that. And then we just say, ‘Well, we’ll take it one day at a time.’”
Experts say this kind of response is normal following natural disasters.
“It’s a physical aspect of the stress response – it will affect the body’s ability to concentrate, to rest and to be able to function,” said Marcie Vaughn, leader of the state-funded West Virginia Crisis Response Team. “Cognition is slowed and impaired,” she added.
In addition to Vaughn’s team, church disaster-assistance teams and the organization Hope Animal Assisted Crisis Response offered material and emotional support to victims, trying to be “a meaningful presence.”
“From the behavioral health perspective, we find we are more in need after the 10th, 12th day, just because immediate needs of food, clothing and shelter take precedence,” said Vaughn.
In the first few days following the flood, Vaughn said her team split their time between helping people replace lost psychiatric medications and looking for signs of mental distress in people at shelters or feeding stations.
“We see fatigue, problems with cognition,” said Vaughn. “You have individuals who walk into a supply center and they have no idea what they need.”
A 2012 study published in the journal of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology found that while most people bounce back a few months after a disaster, if you don’t address ongoing stressors – such as lack of a home, financial challenges and repeated exposure to the trauma – people will continue to struggle.
“As the fatigue sets in and the frustration, we see an increased need for behavioral health intervention,” said Vaughn.
But their work becomes hardest, she said, when national organizations and media have lost interest and real, tough problems persist, but only the local folks remain to extend helping hands.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.
The Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s mobile medical unit is preparing to return to Huntington after a week’s service in…
The Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s mobile medical unit is preparing to return to Huntington after a week’s service in flood-ravaged Rainelle.
“This was our first deployment,” said Charles “Chuck” Clements, M.D., professor of family and community health and faculty advisor for Marshall Medical Outreach, a volunteer-staffed program providing health care to homeless people in downtown Huntington since 2011.
In response to the historic June floods in southern West Virginia, a partnership formed among the medical school, Marshall’s School of Pharmacy, Marshall Health, and Cabell Huntington Hospital to delivered much needed health care to the these devastated communities.
Clements led a team of about two dozen volunteers and the mobile medical unit on the 130-mile journey to Greenbrier County.
Under a series of white tents and in the mobile unit’s two examining rooms, they treated wounds, administered tetanus shots, offered counseling services, and secured medicines for prescriptions that were lost in flood water.
“The big thing with disasters is people lose what we take for granted – water, electricity and heat,” said Clements. “We deploy (to downtown Huntington) every month without any of that, so we came prepared to operate without those necessities,” he said.
“We have lights that are battery operated, we have propane heaters, we have portable water containers. We are self-contained and can move very quickly.”
CEO of Rainelle Medical Clinic, Kristie Rader, said she appreciated the reinforcements.
“Our staff has been running nonstop, running on fumes since we were first flooded,” said Rader.
“It’s giving our staff a break to tend to their own families and clean-out their own homes, many were damaged and destroyed. So it’s been a huge help to us.”
Credit Suzanne Higgins
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Marshall Medical Outreach is an initiative started by med students in 2011. Medical student volunteers worked throughout the mobile clinic effort in Rainelle.
Logistics for the effort were handled by Brian Gallagher, R.Ph., J.D., Chief of Government Relations and Health Care Policy for Marshall Health. Gallagher worked with state and local officials who helped identify Rainelle as a high-priority area.
“These are our colleagues in Greenbrier but it stretches statewide,” said Gallagher. “Marshall Medical Outreach will go wherever in the state that we’re needed.”
“The two prime directives that we’re trying to follow is to see that there are no redundancies, so we don’t want to double up on efforts. The second thing is we don’t want there to be what I call dark corners, somewhere where we’re not shining a light and people aren’t getting services,” he said.
Cabell Huntington Hospital provided personnel and the medical supplies for the temporary clinic.
Marshall’s Medical Outreach program was started by med students, has expanded, and now includes pharmacy students and providers of multiple disciplines, all volunteers.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.
The National Weather Service in Charleston has issued various severe weather advisories across West Virginia as the July 4th holiday weekend comes to a…
The National Weather Service in Charleston has issued various severe weather advisories across West Virginia as the July 4th holiday weekend comes to a close. The warnings follow severe flooding that hit the area nearly two weeks ago, killing 23 people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses.
A tornado warning is in effect until 5:45 Monday for northern Kanawha County.
Officials from the National Weather Service say residents should immediately seek shelter to avoid potential debris that may be flying through the air. Residents should find the most central room on the lowest floor of the building they are currently in.
A flash flood warning is in effect until 8:00 p.m. Monday for:
Southeastern Roane County
Northwestern Nicholas County
South Central Calhouln County
Clay County
Southwestern Braxton County
Northeastern Kanawha County
A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect until 6:00 p.m. Monday for the following areas:
Central Nicholas County
Clay County
Northwestern Fayette County
Southwestern Braxton County
Northeastern Kanawha County
A flash flood watch is also in effect until Tuesday morning for many parts of West Virginia and can be seen depicted in green in the map shown above. For the latest forecast and information on watches, warnings and other advisories, be sure to check the website of the National Weather Service in Charleston.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch on Independence Day in West Virginia. Some of the 21 counties under the watch experienced devastating flooding last month.
The weather service posted the watch from early Monday through early Tuesday, July 5. The watch area covers much of central and northern West Virginia.
The weather service said small streams and creeks would rise quickly if large amounts of rain fall in a few hours.
The worst of last month’s floods were mostly in the southern part of the state. Three counties hit hard then and included in the latest watch are Clay, Nicholas and Roane. The two counties where most of the deaths occurred— Greenbrier and Kanawha — are not in the current watch area.
Friday, July 1, 2016:
West Virginia state officials began releasing numbers Friday that illustrate the damage of severe weather and flooding that killed 23 people.
The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says an estimated 1,500 homes were destroyed and an additional 4,000 homes suffered damage. They also say about 125 businesses have been destroyed.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation released Friday estimated road damage costs related to last week’s weather and flooding. State roads officials say initial damage estimates across the state total more than $36 million. Of that, more than $24 million is expected to come to FEMA and the rest from the Federal Highways Administration.
Credit West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
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West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports 4,561 registrations from residents affected by the flood. As of midday Friday, more than $5.4 million of funding has been approved through the agency’s Individuals and Housing Program.
Thursday, June 30, 2016:
Federal aid from various agencies is pouring into West Virginia following last week’s flooding that destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.
According to the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, more than 4,000 homeowners have registered for individual assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As of midday Thursday, $3,175,915.74 in funding has been approved for FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program. Of that, $2,433,230.10 is directed to housing assistance and $742,6856.64 has been allocated for other needs assistance.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday in a news release the availability of $5.7 million in emergency relief fund from the Federal Highway Administration to help repair roads damaged by heavy rain and flooding in the state.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016:
Governor Tomblin announced Wednesday that the Federal Disaster Declaration has been extended to Pocahontas and Webster counties. That announcement brings the total number of counties declared a disaster to 10, as Clay, Fayette, Monroe, Roane and Summers counties were granted that declaration Tuesday. Three counties–Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas–were originally granted federal disaster status on Saturday.
Tomblin also lifted the State of Emergency for all counties with the exception of 12: Kanawha, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Fayette, Clay, Roane, Summers, Webster, Pocahontas, Monroe, Lincoln and Jackson counties.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. For the latest information be sure to keep refreshing this page.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016:
Tomblin says a Federal Disaster Declaration has been approved for five more flood-ravaged counties in West Virginia.
Tomblin said the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the state’s request for Clay, Fayette, Monroe, Roane and Summers counties. It allows residents to apply for individual assistance from FEMA.
Previously, federal disaster declarations were approved for the three hardest-hit counties — Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas.
Tomblin said he’s waiting word on disaster requests made earlier Tuesday for Pocahontas and Webster counties.
Flash flooding last week damaged thousands of homes and businesses and killed 23 people. Tomblin previously issued a state of emergency in 44 counties, which authorizes the mobilization of state resources for flood-relief efforts.
Federal disaster relief is making its way into West Virginia after severe storms and flooding killed at least 23 people last week. Federal Emergency Management Agency- or FEMA- crews have already begun their work with individual homeowners to assess personal property damage.
FEMA officials said they will have a mobile unit to coordinate efforts in place by Wednesday and they are already providing food and water to the hardest hit areas.
Credit Dave Mistich / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A truck lays on the banks of Howard Creek just outside of White Sulphur Springs on Monday, June 27, 2016. That vehicle joined others in a stretch of the creek that were covered in uprooted trees and other debris.
The American Red Cross has more than 400 disaster relief workers on the ground providing meals and aiding in search and clean-up efforts.
General James Hoyer with the West Virginia National Guard says more than 500 members of the Guard have been mobilized and he expects that number to reach 700 this week. Hoyer said Monday several hundred of his men and women will remain active for weeks to aid in clean-up efforts.
Monday, June 27, 2016:
The number of deaths resulting from last week’s severe floods have been revised by the West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office. According the to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, two people who were presumed dead after their camper was washed away by flood waters were found alive, bringing the death toll to 23.
With more heavy rain forecasted, a flash flood watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for much of southern West Virginia. The watch is in effect all day Monday and expires at 9 p.m. Greenbrier and Summers counties will be under a watch until midnight.
According to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 88 percent of residents in Clay and Roane Counties are without power as of Monday morning.
Response efforts were winding down Sunday in most areas, although Kanawha and Greenbrier County emergency management personnel continue going house-to-house, searching for anyone left behind by the dangerous floods.
In Kanawha County, trained rescue units are making a second sweep of homes in the Clendenin and Frame areas. Officials say they’re double checking each house because they want to make sure they didn’t miss anything on a quick, first pass-through. They also say there is no timetable for when search and rescue operations will finish.
Credit Dave Mistich / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Greenbrier County officials on the ground there say search and rescue operations continue throughout the county in the areas of White Sulphur Springs, Rainelle, Rupert and Renick.
Cleanup continues around the state as the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived Saturday and began by focusing on aerial assessments of the impacted areas. The agency begins on-the-ground damage assessments this week.
Three of the hardest hit counties, Nicholas, Kanawha and Greenbrier, were approved Saturday for individual federal disaster relief.
“This federal support will provide much needed assistance to severely-impacted regions,” Gov. Tomblin said in a news release.
“As emergency response efforts continue, with members of the National Guard and local emergency responders hard at work helping our neighbors, we will continue pursuing additional assistance for all affected areas.”
The Associated Press reports that President Obama spoke to Tomblin by phone Saturday to offer federal assistance and condolences to the people of West Virginia.
The declaration will provide emergency medical support, housing and addresses a number of immediate needs to residents of the three counties, according to Tomblin’s release.
Damage assessments continue in many other counties–including Clay, Fayette, Monroe, Ritchie, Summers and Webster counties. Tomblin said additional requests may be submitted to FEMA.
Door-to-door searches continued into Saturday afternoon in western Greenbrier County, including Rainelle, according to emergency officials. Deputy director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Paula Brown said the agency is fielding questions about missing persons, but has no way to tell how many reports have come in to county officials or who might be missing.
State officials said Saturday that, overall, emergency officials are moving from a response to a recovery–noting that pockets of the state remain in a difficult position.
Credit Courtesy Photo Alex Wiederspiel / WVMetroNews
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WVMetroNews
A portion of U.S. Route 60 washed away about 15 miles from Rainelle. As of Saturday morning, emergency crews were going door-to-door checking on the well-being of flood victims in western Greenbrier County.
Flood Response by the Numbers (as of 7:45 p.m. Sunday), According to WVDHSEM
Number of fatalities remains at 25
17 in Greenbrier County
6 in KanawhaCounty
1 in Ohio County
1 in Jackson County
17,280 homes and businesses still without power. Updated: Saturday, June 25, 2016 at 9:30 a.m.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Friday afternoon it was deploying two separate units to West Virginia to provide support and guidance on the Federal Disaster Declaration Process. FEMA’s Region 3, based in Philadelphia, is deploying a Incident Management Assistance Team and Preliminary Damage Assessment teams. These teams will work with state and local officials, as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration to assess damages and impact to communities.
“We’ve been able to get folks into shelters if they were stranded. The next phase is getting the FEMA teams in. We’ll be starting that process today and going through the weekend and into next week–so we can get the application prepared for a Federal Disaster Declaration,” said Governor Tomblin’s Chief of Staff Chris Stadelman on Saturday morning.
Stadelman says there is a threshold of $4 million in damages to be eligible for a Federal Disaster Declaration. If the state reaches that threshold, they will also have to match some of those federal dollars.
Greenbrier County was one of the hardest hit areas. Sheriff Jan Cahill said at least 13 were killed there.
John Manchester, mayor of the hard-hit town of Lewisburg in Greenbrier County, said a stretch of highway was completely washed away. Houses were thrown from their foundations and the rubble lines creek beds all over the county.
The PGA announced Saturday that the Greenbrier Classic is canceled following the flood.
Credit Josh Saul / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Flooding in Kanawha County
Severe weather began earlier this week. A confirmed EF-1 tornado, which has wind speeds of up to 110 mph, hit Nicholas County on Tuesday.
West Virginia roads officials have been dealing with downed trees and power poles, high water, accidents and other problems due to ongoing storms. Several accidents have been reported in recent days due to hydroplaning, and there are intermittent traffic signal outages.
Nicholas and Greenbrier counties were the first to be declared states of emergency late Thursday, June 23rd, in the afternoon. Emergency shelters began to open and reports of evacuations started to come in soon after. Jackson County Emergency Management officials report day two of a search for a male child between 2 and 4 will begin at 9 a.m. this morning. The boy was swept away Thursday, June 23rd, by swift water behind his home near Ravenswood.
Jackson County officials confirm the body of the missing 4-year-old swept away yesterday has been found in a nearby creek.
By Thursday evening, West Virginia’s Governor Earl Ray Tomblin expanded the state of emergency to include 44 of the state’s 55 counties –all but the northern and eastern panhandles.
Tomblin released a statement Friday morning calling the flooding events “the worst in a century for some parts of the state.” He’s authorized 500 members of the West Virginia National Guard to assist with local emergency responders and says some waters are still rising this morning.
Credit Kara Lofton / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A state policeman inspects the mudslide covering route 39 west of Richwood, late June 23rd.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story, please keep revisiting the post for the latest update. For the latest on severe weather advisories, visit the National Weather Service. For road closures, visit the West Virginia Department of Transportation’s WV511.
Updated Friday, June 24 at 5:50 p.m.
Kanawha County Sheriff’s Sgt. B.D. Humphreys says rescue crews have begun evacuating an estimated 500 people who were trapped by high water in a West Virginia shopping center.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending teams to West Virginia in response to flooding.
FEMA said in a news release Friday the teams will participate in joint preliminary damage assessments with the state and local officials and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The assessments will include Clay, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Roane, Webster and other counties.
FEMA said the information will be compiled and reviewed by the state, which may decide that a request for federal assistance is warranted.
Updated Friday, June 24 at 4:15 p.m.
County Public Information Officer Brooke Hyobert reports folks in Kanawha County were escorted out on foot by first responders early this morning and taken by bus to Capitol High School. Capitol is the only currently open shelter in Kanawha County, but people can get food, water, and electricity there. Also cots are available for those in need of sleep.
Various Kanawha County fire departments are conducting water rescues in Elkview and Clendenin areas with some assistance from the National Guard. Thursday they focused on vehicle rescues, Friday they are focused on homes and people who left their homes and got stuck on higher ground.
Updated Friday, June 24 at 3:00 p.m.
In a press conference this afternoon, Governor Tomblin said he’s mobilized 500 members of the National Guard at this point to help support relief efforts throughout the lower region of West Virginia. He said the six counties hardest hit took major structural damage, at least 100 homes are ruined, 17 shelters are open across the state, and 66,000 are without power.
Updated Friday, June 24 at 11:50 a.m.
The three deaths in Kanawha County and one in Ohio County are “believed to be storm related,” according to sources in the Governor’s office. Deputy Director of Emergency Management in Kanawha County, C.W. Sigman, says two of the Kanawha County fatalities were found near local creeks: one inside a vehicle along Wills Creek and the second near Jordan Creek. Reports in Ohio County indicate that the 8-year-old who fell into the creek was caught by fast-moving water.
Kanawha County Sheriff’s Sgt. B.D. Humphreys says rescue crews have begun evacuating an estimated 500 people who were trapped by high water in a West Virginia shopping center. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s communications director, Chris Stadelman, said the people were trapped at the Crossings Mall in Elkview after a culvert bridge washed out.
Updated Friday, June 24 at 9:30 a.m.
A West Virginia official says there are confirmed fatalities from flooding that has devastated parts of the state. Chris Stadelman, who’s Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s communications director, said Friday morning that three people died in Kanawha County. He didn’t have details and said the numbers don’t include a young boy who crews have been looking for after he was swept away by swift water Thursday in Jackson County.
Updated Friday, June 24 at 7:30 a.m.
FirstEnergy is reporting that 34,000 of 540,000 customers are affected by the recent weather events. Hard hit counties include Greenbrier, Monroe, and Clay counties. The company expects to restore power by Friday afternoon.
Appalachian Power reported about 24,000 were without electricity as of Thursday June 23rd, in the early evening. Hardest hit counties include Kanawha, Fayette, Jackson, Greenbrier, Roane, and Nicholas. The company expects to restore power to Cabell, Jackson and Mason by Friday evening, and hopes Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Raleigh and Roane will have power restored by late Friday evening.
Credit Aaron Shackelford / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Gauley River June 24th, 2016
Updated Thursday, June 23 at 11:38 p.m.
State officials say Interstate 79 between mile markers 10 and 23 have been reopened following a mudslide earlier Thursday near Amma. Heavy flooding continued in the area into the evening and night. Here’s video submitted by Mark Bolton from earlier Thursday looking down on O’Dell’s Exxon gas station, looking down from the interstate:
Updated Thursday, June 23 at 10:15 p.m.
Governor Tomblin expanded his state of emergency proclamation to include 44 counties:
UPDATE: Gov. Tomblin has expanded #SOE to 44 counties, excluding the Northern and Eastern Panhandles.
Jenny Gannaway State Chair of West Virginia’s chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster is coordinating disaster relief efforts in Charleston. She says the storm is “”probably worse than what we’ve seen in recent years.”
Gannaway says efforts are underway to assist in opening shelters and getting relief to counties in need. Teams are on standby to help with tree removal, damage assessments, emotional and spiritual care, and setting up feeding sites tomorrow.
Updated Thursday, June 23 at 7:36 p.m.
Jackson County emergency responders continue to search for a missing toddler after receiving a call at 4:25 p.m. Thursday that he was swept away by swift water due to flooding.
911 / Office of Emergency Services Deputy Director Chad Walters the Ravenswood, Ripley and Cottageville Fire Departments have deployed boats on the Ohio River as well as Sandy Creek in Ravenswood as they search for the boy.
State agencies, including the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, are also assisting in the search.
Updated Thursday, June 23 at 7:15 p.m.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation says a mudslide closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 79 near the Amma Exit. A tractor-trailer is stuck in the mud. The DOT says to expect delays as the road is cleared.
Severe weather continues to move across West Virginia Thursday evening with heavy rainfall causing flooding in some counties. Greenbrier and Nicholas Counties have been placed under a state of emergency.
The National Weather Service in Charleston has also issued hazardous weather advisories for much of the state Thursday. This includes a tornado watch for western and southern parts of the state.
Updated Thursday, June 23 at 6:54 p.m.
According to the W.Va. Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Red Cross says Liberty Baptist Church in Richwood is sheltering 90 displaced nursing home residents who are in dire need of oxygen. Liberty Baptist is at 157 Riverside Dr, Richwood West Virginia.
Updated Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 6:25 p.m.
Kanawha County Metro 911 is reporting dozens of water rescues in the county, with many being reported in Clendenin. High water, downed trees and vehicle accidents are also being reported across the county.
Updated Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 6:16 p.m.
Jackson County Emergency Management Director Walter Smittle says first responders are continuing to search for a male child between 2 and 4 who was swept away by swift water.
Emergency crews–including officials from the Ravenswood, Ripley and Cottageville fire departments, as well as others from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Ravenswood Police Department and the West Virginia State Police–were dispatched around 4:25 p.m. to Utah Rd. just outside of Ravenswood. They said the boy has yet to be located but crews are continuing to search for him.
Smittle says they’ve received reports of flash flooding across the county all afternoon and are uring residents to use caution and stay inside.
Updated Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 6:03 p.m.
Four shelters are open in Greenbrier County: Quinwood, Rainelle, Rupert, White Sulphur, and a fifth is opening up in Ronceverte.
Greenbrier County Emergency Management Deputy Director Paula Brown says The National Guard is coming to assist with evacuations. A Swiftwarer Rescue Team is headed from Preston County. Many people have been evacuated from their homes, cars and buses.
Updated Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 5:51 p.m.
Mike Baker, director of Braxton County Emergency Services, says that there are several roads closed due to flooding in the county. Emergency officials have evacuated 10 people from two homes in the Heaters/Stone Run area. Baker says most of the issues are in the southern part of the county. Baker is asking residents to stay home and off the roads. He’s also asking people to only call 911 in a true emergency. Crews are working to try and clear roads and help people as best they can.
Updated Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 5:49 p.m.
Governor Tomblin says earlier reports from Nicholas County that the Summit Lake Dam has breached or overtopped are false. He says the U. S. Forest Service has inspected the dam and the West Virginia Division of Emergency Management continues to monitor the situation.
UPDATE: The @forestservice has confirmed the Summit Lake Dam has not breached or overtopped. @WVDHSEM continues to monitor the situation.
Greenbrier County Emergency Management officials say the county is under a state of emergency with heavy flooding is occurring across the county. Rupert, Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs said to be the hardest hit areas with most roadways closed.
Two shelters are open–one in Rupert and the other in the western part of the county. The National Guard is coming and a swiftwater crew. Another extreme storm is going to be in that area for the next 3 hours. Officials are asking residents to stay indoors.
This is the view along US 60 near the Greenbrier Sporting Club. Road remains CLOSED. Avoid travel in this area. pic.twitter.com/VO6wBl7SyN
First responders in Fayette County say they are to busy to speak at the moment. While they have no road closures to report right now they are dealing with “several issues” related to severe weather.
Updated Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 5:07 p.m.
Following heavy rainfall and an overflow of the Summit Lake Dam, the city of Richwood in Nicholas County is seeing considerable flooding and some residents have been evacuated to shelters in the area.
According to Nicholas County Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management director Jim Lawson, the dam has not breached or broken.
Water overflowing from the top of the dam has stopped, said Lawson.
Nicholas County’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management issued a notice at 3:30 p.m. Thursday stating the county commission has issued a state of emergency.
Original Post from Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 3:29 p.m.
Severe weather began earlier this week. A confirmed tornado EF-1 tornado, which has wind speeds of up to 110 mph, hit Nicholas County on Tuesday.
West Virginia roads officials are dealing with downed trees and power poles, high water, accidents and other problems due to ongoing storms. Several accidents have been reported in recent days due to hydroplaning, and there are intermittent traffic signal outages.
A tornado watch is in effect till 10:15 Thursday evening.
Boone
Braxton
Cabell
Calhoun
Clay
Fayette
Gilmer
Jackson
Kanawha
Lincoln
Logan
Mason
McDowell
Mingo
Nicholas
Putnam
Raleigh
Roane
Wayne
Wirt
Wood
Wyoming
A flash flood warning is in effect till 6:30.
The National Weather Service advises residents of these areas to use caution and to more to a interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
While Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties were initially thought to be the hardest hit in West Virginia, receiving federal disaster declarations…
While Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties were initially thought to be the hardest hit in West Virginia, receiving federal disaster declarations some 24 hours after catastrophic flooding, as the waters receded it was clear the damage was more widespread.
In Clay County, officials estimate more than 500 homes were damaged or destroyed leaving at least 500 people displaced.
Crews from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, made their way into the county just days after flood waters receded, viewing only a small area before recommending the county be declared a federal disaster area. That declaration came on Tuesday, Governor Tomblin formally announcing it during a press conference at the county’s health department in Clay.
Credit Ashton Marra / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Clay County Commission President Greg Fitzwater gives members of the West Virginia National Guard directions to an area of the county where members are working to remove debris.
The area surveyed by FEMA officials included the communities of Procious, Bomont and Camp Creek, where small creeks and streams feed into the Elk River as it flows south to Kanawha County.
Clay County Commission President and Deputy Emergency Services Director Greg Fitzwater said at one point following June 24’s heavy storms, Route 4 in the county, which runs along the Elk, had six to seven feet of water covering it.
“It was this area alone that caused FEMA to give us a disaster declaration. It just kinda almost makes a fella speechless to look at all of this,” Fitzwater said as he drove through the southwestern portion of the county made up of those communities.
The National Weather Service measured the Elk River at its crest at just over 30 feet Friday in Clay, the highest the river has been in the county since 1918, 98 years ago.
On the morning of Friday, June 24, Sgt. Major Darrell Sears arrived in the county with members of the National Guard to aid Fitzwater in the recovery efforts. The state sent a shipment of water, but more supplies didn’t arrive in the county until Saturday.
“I know a lot of the people were out of resources,” Sears said, adding that the area public service district was able to restore water to the county health department to distribute and one convenience store was running on generator power so some resources were available.
“I know that people had to buy it, but it wasn’t anybody life threatening at [that] moment,” he said.
Credit Ashton Marra / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
An excavator, left, attempts to rebuild the piece of land where one of Dave Sizemore’s private, one-lane bridges used to sit. The bridge was washed away by flood waters.
Since, the county has restored sewer operations and as of July 2, only 10 percent of county water customers were still without service, but those official county estimates don’t mention the number of people who lost septic systems in the storm or who rely on well water.
Ten percent of the county remains without power as well.
Clay County also experienced the highest total damage to roadways, which FEMA estimates totals $8.5 million.
Catastrophic floods ravaged southern West Virginia on June 23rd, 2016. As people look to the future, many are debating the role of climate change.
Lots of people who grew up and live in southern West Virginia insist flooding has never been as bad as it is today. Not everyone agrees why. It’s likely a combination of forces at work, but how much of a role is climate change playing?
The Debate
Michael Mann is a distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University and director of a center for climate research.
“Data are very clear. There is a substantial increase in what we call the intensity of rainfall events which is simply to say — flooding. More extreme and more prevalent flooding.”
Despite that data, some scientists say…it’s hard to prove unequivocally on paper that climate change is creating more flooding or changing the nature of floods in West Virginia.
Steve Kite is a geologist and researcher at West Virginia University who specializes in earth surface processes, including things like floods and landslides.
“There are a number of papers out that have tried to prove it based on flood histories and to this point they have not really been able to say that that is the case.”
The Facts
One thing we do know for sure: West Virginia is naturally prone to flooding. In fact, it’s one of the most flash-flood prone states in the country, and maybe even the world. A lot has to do with the rugged Appalachian Mountains. Stacked ridgelines and deep hollows are really good at shaking moisture out of storms, and channelling it quickly downstream to larger rivers.
Climatologists like Mann explain that as the globe has warmed one degree celsius, the amount of moisture in the atmosphere has increased by about 5 percent. Mann compares the atmosphere to a sponge.
“The warmer the atmosphere is, the more water there is in that sponge and when you squeeze it you’re going to get more intense rainfall events, more intense flooding, and the data indicates that this is indeed happening in the U.S.”
Data from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that while some places like California are experiencing extreme drought, the amount of water in extreme rainfall events has increased 70 percent in our region over the course of the last century. So climate scientists like Mann are not totally surprised by West Virginia’s once-in-a-millennia 2016 flood.
The Takeaway
Meteorologist Sean Sublette from the non-profit organization Climate Central in New Jersey says it’s a safe assumption that climate change played an impactful role.
“Climate change certainly raises your odds and raises the stakes,” he said.
So imagine an athlete on steroids. If he hits a home run, no one can directly attribute the success to drug use, but the chances of that athlete hitting home runs are greatly increased by the steroids. West Virginia is the athlete, the flood is the home run, and climate change is the drug.
And many scientists agree that there may be a cocktail of drugs in West Virginia’s case if you also consider land-use issues like timbering and mining practices as well as floodplain management.
Climate scientists say the bottom line in the coming decades: floods are going to happen, and likely more often, and more intensely.
Regardless of the cause, geologists and climatologists agree, West Virginians need to be intelligent about how we rebuild in the wake of recent flooding.
