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.
Basketball hall of famer Jerry West was born on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County on May 28, 1938. He led East Bank High School to a state basketball championship before going on to rewrite the record books at West Virginia University. As a sophomore, his Mountaineer team finished the regular season ranked first in the nation. In 1959, he took WVU to within two points of a national championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Tournament. After his senior season, he won a gold medal in basketball at the 1960 Olympics.
West went on to a 14-year pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in 14 all-star games. He was named MVP of the league in 1972 and was the third player in NBA history to score more than 25,000 points. His playoff scoring average is still among the league’s highest. Later, as the team’s general manager, he built the Lakers’ “Showtime” dynasty of the 1980s.
The NBA logo is based on Jerry West’s silhouette, a reflection of his impact on the game. And he is widely regarded as West Virginia’s greatest athlete.
The 2020 West Virginia legislative session has ended with no new legislation addressing black lung benefits, leaving former and current coal miners to depend on waning federal benefits to combat the lifelong disease.
Coal Miners Vs. Coal Companies
The Kanawha County chapter of the Black Lung Association — which includes about 30 current and former coal miners, wives, widows and volunteers — lobbied local legislators this past year to no avail. Last week the group celebrated its one-year anniversary while discussing what the future will look like for miners at its’ monthly meeting in Cabin Creek, West Virginia.
Cabin Creek has a long history with coal mining and strife between union workers and the coal companies over wages. In 1912 the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike resulted in a year-long, deadly battle, and over 200 miners were arrested, and even 108 years later, the resentment is palpable.
John Ingram has black lung, a crippling disease caused by the inhalation of coal and silica dust. He worked underground and on surface mines as an electrician.
“I get a little frustrated because coal companies for years, I mean before I was born even, got away with whatever they wanted to get away with,” Ingram said. “And somebody needs to stop them, hold them accountable. After all we made the money for them.”
The Federal Fight
These days, miners are still fighting, albeit nonviolently, through the bureaucratic system for federal black lung benefits. The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund provides some miners disabled by black lung with monthly payments and medical benefits. Coal companies pay into it through a per-ton tax on coal.
But the fund is more than $4 billion in debt, and as coal companies increasingly file for bankruptcy it is facing insolvency more quickly than predicted.
For miners, getting approved for the federal benefits is time consuming. Jerry Coleman, the chapter’s president, fought for seven years. He said many of the men in the room have been denied and are trying to appeal.
“Yeah I’ve got 37 years in the coal mines,” he said. “Some of them they’ve got 30 some years in the coal mines, and they’re getting turned down. There’s something wrong.”
Credit Caitlin Tan / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
One of the members wears the Kanawha County Black Lung Association’s T-shirts at the meeting March 5, 2020 in Cabin Creek, WV. The group celebrated its one-year anniversary.
Historically there have been many loopholes for coal companies to appeal miners’ requests for federal benefits, and cases can be tied up for sometimes 10 years.
The Local Fight
Three bills presented to state legislators this year intended to ease pressure off miners in the process of seeking federal benefits and help those who are diagnosed with black lung but can still work. Senate Bill 54 and House Bill 440 would have guaranteed miners diagnosed with black lung 20 weeks of paid benefits and a 25 percent permanent partial disability award. Additionally, House Bill 2588 would have eliminated any time limit to receive a black lung diagnosis. None of the bills made it out of committee.
Delegate Mike Caputo, D-Marion county, sponsored two of the black lung bills this session.
“It’s not something that’s real popular with the masses, like promising jobs. But it’s real and it needs discussed and it needs more focus put on it,” he said. “And we tried to do that by introducing legislation but getting the leadership to try to move that type of legislation is almost impossible.”
The failure of the West Virginia Legislature to once again take action comes as miners in central Appalachia face an epidemic of deadly progressive massive fibrosis, the advanced stage of black lung disease.
Sam Petsonk, a Beckley-based attorney who has largely represented black lung cases, explained to the chapter why the partial disability award is a bill to lobby for next year.
“It’s an important way to prevent people from getting deathly sick, as fast,” Petsonk said. “You get that 25 percent, monitor yourself, make sure you’re out of the dust, don’t do anything crazy and control your disease — prolong your life.”
As the meeting ended, members talked about how to move forward. Their plan is to continue lobbying the Legislature for the 25 percent permanent partial disability award, and to lobby the federal government for a permanent plan to fund the black lung benefits.
Plan For Lifelong Sickness
One of the resounding sentiments was to vote. Former miners John Ingram and Arthur Betty have black lung and said miners have felt disenfranchised for the last 75 years.
“There’s where the fight starts right there,” Betty said. “You can’t win if you keep putting the same cutthroat crooks year after year. Let’s get a new racehorse in there.”
“Any politician that sides with the coal companies, don’t vote for them,” Ingram said.
And as for the younger generation, Ingram said he encourages them to still work in the coal mines even though he admits black lung is inevitable in the working conditions. Although he said younger miners need to take steps now to plan for their future of sickness.
“You work in the coal mines. It’s a good honest living, but you work in there safely,” he said.
Del. Caputo said there are plans to introduce similar legislation to the black lung partial disability benefits, again, in next year’s session.
The Kanawha County chapter of the Black Lung Association meets at 3:30 on the first Thursday of every month at the Zion Assembly Church of God in Cabin Creek.
This story is part of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Southern Coalfields Reporting Project which is supported by a grant from the National Coal Heritage Area Authority.
An earlier version of this story mistated the name of the miner in the lead photo. It is Milton ‘Mickey’ Pettry, not Milton ‘Mickey’ Patrick.
Basketball hall of famer Jerry West was born on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County on May 28, 1938. He led East Bank High School to a state basketball championship before going on to rewrite the record books at West Virginia University. As a sophomore, his Mountaineer team finished the regular season ranked first in the nation. In 1959, he took WVU to within two points of a national championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Tournament. After his senior season, he won a gold medal in basketball at the 1960 Olympics.
West went on to a 14-year pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in 14 all-star games. He was named MVP of the league in 1972 and was the third player in NBA history to score more than 25,000 points. His playoff scoring average is still among the league’s highest. Later, as the team’s general manager, he built the Lakers’ “Showtime” dynasty of the 1980s.
The NBA logo is based on Jerry West’s silhouette, a reflection of his impact on the game. And he is widely regarded as West Virginia’s greatest athlete.
