What role did climate change play in the 2016 West Virginia floods?Climate scientists say they expect more intense rainstorms, like the one that dumped up…
What role did climate change play in the 2016 West Virginia floods?
Climate scientists say they expect more intense rainstorms, like the one that dumped up to 10 inches on some West Virginia towns.
But Jessica Moore says not so fast. Moore is a senior geologist with the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey. She points to studies showing such extreme rainfall events were more common in our history that you may think.
Listen to the full discussion on The Front Porch.
Credit Kara Lofton / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Flooded house in White Sulfur Springs, W.Va.
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No prisons in the state have been flooding in recent weather events, but high waters have created issues for staff of a few facilities in affected areas.
Lawrence Messina the Assistant Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety said Mount Olive Correctional Complex and the Anthony Correctional Center have staff who are off trying to cope with floods. As a result, the facilities are understaffed.
The facilities are also trying to conserve water. The hope is to keep use down so as not to put a drain on communities already dealing with a lack of water in some cases.
Prison work details are also now being used to help in cleanup efforts.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a press release announcing details on how survivors affected by West Virginia flooding can get assistance. Federal disaster assistance for individuals and families can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property loss and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.
FEMA officials have reported that over $290,000 of federal funding has been approved for individuals and households affected by the disaster. 2,600 individual registrations have already been received, 800 of which have already been referred to inspectors.
By his estimate, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said thousands of homes have either been destroyed or damaged beyond repair after severe storms rolled through much…
By his estimate, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said thousands of homes have either been destroyed or damaged beyond repair after severe storms rolled through much of southeastern West Virginia Thursday, leaving in its wake some of the worst flooding the state has seen in years.
“No one’s seen anything like this before,” House Speaker Tim Armstead said Monday as he waited outside Clendenin Advent Christian Church for Tomblin.
After a press conference, Tomblin toured the church as Pastor Mike Todorovich pointed out the devastation.
Credit Ashton Marra / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The decades old baby grand piano that sits in the worship hall is one of the only items to survive the flood that filled Clendenin Advent Christian Church with water.
“We slept up on the balcony water got up as far as the stoop over there,” Todorvich told the governor as they stood in the worship hall that took on several inches, if not feet of water.
“When the water crested in the church, it went up about an inch on the window sill at that point before it started going back down.”
Todorvich showed Tomblin the mud, debris and three to four inches of water left behind in the churches basement. When he pointed to the decades old piano in the worship hall, the only thing that survived, he broke down.
“You know, when you see devastation like you have here in Clendenin, it’s going to take some time for people to get their homes, their lives back in order,” Tomlin said during his press conference. Earlier in the day, he had visited the town of Rainelle in Greenbrier County, one of the hardest hit by the storm.
FEMA- the Federal Emergency Management Agency- sent crews to the state Saturday to begin assessing the overall damage from the high water. Monday, more FEMA personnel began documenting and assessing the damage to personal property in the three counties named federal disaster areas.
Credit Ashton Marra / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin during a press conference in front of Clendenin Advent Christian Church
FEMA coordinating officer Albie Lewis says people should begin to clean up, but while they’re doing it, should take pictures and carefully document the damage to everything from dry wall to personal belongings. And they should register with FEMA so an assessor can help them get federal aid.
Todorovich has started the cleanup process in his church’s community hall next door where volunteers from Circleville, Ohio, are tearing down damaged dry wall so it can be replaced.
Armstead said, in Clendenin, it will likely take months to clean up and rebuild- every business in town is closed due to storm damage and the infamous old school Dairy Queen collapsed when moving water swept through the town, but he believes the town will come back.
“This is a wonderful little town and I think most of the people here want to stay and they’ve lived here, I mean, most of us who live in the Elk River area have lived here, generations of our family have lived here and people don’t want to leave. So, we’re hoping that we can put it back together and work hard to keep everybody here.”
The town of Rainelle, a town of about 1,500 people, was largely evacuated last Thursday because of the flood. Water rose about 5 ft. in parts of the town, damaging businesses, homes, and the library. Fred Fryar was one of the evacuees. He’s the pastor of Sewell Valley Baptist Church. Two days later, he was working on cleaning his home.
Fred Fryar’s front lawn was covered in mud as he was carrying most of he and his wife’s furniture, clothes, and personal belongings out to the curb. Most of it had been destroyed.
But he had a smile on his face. Because, he said, “you get to the place where laughing is what you can do about it,” said Fryar. He lost at least two church members who passed away in the flood. He says he’s lucky to be alive.
He called 911 four times to be rescued. Emergency responders were dealing with evacuations all over Greenbrier County that night. Volunteers came to help from all over the state. Members of Fryar’s church knew he was stranded, so they found two volunteers who had brought their personal John boat. Fryar didn’t know if anyone was coming. It was dark. The water was up to his chest.
His neighbor 79-year-old Helen Hanson was also trapped.
Hanson says she was praying all day long for help to come.
“I finally decided when it started to get dark, ‘Lord you have completely forgotten about me.’”
Then around 11 at night, Fryer saw the John boat moving down the street towards them.
“So I hollered at her, and said the boat’s comin, the boat’s comin.”
Fred Fryar is the pastor of Sewell Valley Baptist Church.
Fryar says there were so many people who were scared and stuck in their homes. Not all of them survived.
He says he heard “people hollering ‘help help’ that night, older people that needed some help and knew that if they didn’t get it they were done for.”
Helen Hanson was about to give up. She decided she would if the water reached the back of her neck.
“I was just going to let it put me under the water. Cause I knew that’s what’s gonna happen. And it’s not a very good feeling,” Hanson remembers.
“The water was cold and it kept getting colder on my legs. It kept getting colder and colder, and it was terrible. But the good Lord was with me.”
Not long after Hanson considered giving up, the volunteers arrived. Fred Fryer told her to rescue Hanson first. They carried her into their boat.
They had to lift her into the boat because she could hardly use her legs.
Neither Hanson nor Fryar found out the names of the two guys who rescued them. If it hadn’t been for them, they both say they don’t know if they would have been saved in time.
“People in West Virginia’s just good like that. And they’re ready to help. And some of them don’t even know you, but they’re ready to help,” said Fryar.
For the next few days, Fryar and his wife, and Helen Hanson have been staying with members of Fryar’s church, who live in Meadowbridge.
Like most of the displaced people from Rainelle, they’re waiting to see what happens once FEMA arrives.
“Things are lookin up. God is so good to us. He said he would work things out to our good … I don’t know how he’s gonna do that, but he’s gonna do it,” Fryar said, choking back tears.
A day after he was interviewed, Fryar did receive some good news. He and his wife Kathy were offered a temporary home in Rainelle. The home is owned by Helen Hanson’s family. Hanson plans to go there too, and the three of them will be able to stay there as long as it takes to rebuild their homes.
Heavy flooding in West Virginia has claimed tens of lives in the state, and Governor Tomblin has declared a state of emergency in 44 of the 55 counties. Use our map to discover some of the communities that were most affected by the storms.
