Hurricane Helene devastated the southeast and now members of the West Virginia National Guard are heading to help with their recovery.
Thirty guard members are set to leave for South Carolina on Friday to assist with reconstruction and debris cleanup. The troops will be there for around two weeks.
Busick, North Carolina received nearly 31 inches of rain, the highest rainfall in the Appalachians from any tropical weather system.
Gov. Jim Justice, as the commander in chief of the state’s National Guard, activated the guard to aid communities devastated by the storm.
“The West Virginia National Guard is running to the fire without hesitation, as we always do,” Justice said in a statement. “That’s what we do in West Virginia – we pull the rope together. I’m proud we can join forces with other states to support North Carolina and South Carolina in their recovery efforts. My thoughts and prayers are with our brave service members.”
National Guard Major General Bill Crane said he is grateful the governor has activated the Guard to help other states that have been impacted by the catastrophic weather.
“You’ve seen the devastation. The governor has seen the devastation, and we want nothing more than to go in and try to help as much as we can,” Crane said. “That’s what we’re here for. That’s why we work so well together.”
Crane says the guard will be teaming up with other state’s air teams to access areas that are still currently not accessible by land due to flooding, and infrastructure damage.
Originally 12 more guard members were slated to head to North Carolina to assist in fatality search and recovery. However, that has been canceled. Guard officials said the North Carolina National Guard has put their request on hold as they continue to assess their response needs.
Flooding is a recurring problem across Appalachia. This week, we’re taking stock, and looking back on floods that have devastated parts of West Virginia and Kentucky.
We explore some of the reasons for floods, as well as the aftermath and the slow recovery that often follows disaster.
It’s not all gloom. Even in our hardest moments, there’s always hope.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
In 2016, West Virginia saw 10 inches of rain in 12 hours. The resulting flooding led to 23 deaths. The governor mobilized hundreds of members of the West Virginia National Guard.
Jessica Lilly reported from the town of Richwood and told a story that went back decades.
Reclaiming Rand
Rand, West Virginia, is a town of about 900 people just outside Charleston. Flooding has been a regular problem for decades, partly because of longstanding issues with faulty storm sewers.
Tiara Brown reported this story.
Healing Comes From Alan “Cathead” Johnston’s Ballad
Alan “Cathead” Johnston with his daughters Jessi and Stacey at the Wheeling Jamboree.
Courtesy Photo
Singer and songwriter Alan “Cathead” Johnston wrote the song, “Muddy Waters” about two horrific back-to-back 100-year floods that tore through McDowell County in 2001 and 2002.
It’s been a couple of decades, but Folkways Reporter Connie Kitts found that people are still drawing strength and comfort from this ballad.
The Flood In Hindman, KY
It’s impossible to talk about flooding without acknowledging last year’s historic flooding in eastern Kentucky. The floods killed at least 38 people and damaged some of the region’s cultural centers, including Appalshop in Whitesburg and the Hindman Settlement School.
WFPL’s Stephanie Wolf visited Hindman just after the floods and took stock of what was lost.
Coming Back From Disaster Through Faith And Music
Dean (Dino) McBee cleans old recording equipment damaged in the 2022 floods in Kentucky.
Credit: Nicole Musgrave/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
When you spend time in Appalachia and live through a few floods, you tend to notice a recurring theme: neighbors helping neighbors. In Millstone, Kentucky gospel musicians were cut off from participating in part of their culture after they lost instruments. Many found help reconnecting with their music.
Folkways Reporter Nicole Musgrave brought us this report.
A Poem For A Flooded Town
West Virginia poet Doug Van Gundy at the Hindman Settlement School in Kentucky for the Appalachian Writer’s Workshop in 2022 the night Troublesome Creek flooded.
He shared this poem with us, which was partly inspired by what he saw.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Jackson Browne, The Dirty River Boys, Alan “Cathead” Johnston, Dino McBee and Yonder Mountain String Band.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
After severe flooding in late May, Berkeley Medical Center will reopen its operating rooms in early July. The facility will also receive two new mobile operating rooms to ease the transition.
The Berkeley Medical Center will be “totally back up and running” by July 14 after flooding closed the facility’s operating rooms last month, according to Albert Wright, president of the West Virginia University (WVU) Health System.
Wright said the Martinsburg medical facility, operated by WVU Medicine, was undergoing construction on its second floor in late May.
During the construction, parts of the facility’s first floor — home to its 10 inpatient operating rooms — were exposed to the elements.
Wright said the “construction mishap” caused a “breach between the second floor of their building and the first floor,” which “allowed water to penetrate into that operating room floor.”
“It was a man-made breach by accident,” he said.
The facility was flooded with dirty rainwater, which caused significant damage. In the weeks since the flooding, construction teams have had to demolish and replace significant portions of the operating rooms to ensure they meet medical standards.
“Operating rooms are really some of the most sterile areas you have in a hospital. We have to make sure that they’re clean and free from infection,” Wright said.
Despite the damages, Wright said teams on site have made fast progress on the repairs.
By July 3, WVU Medicine anticipates that five of the 10 operating rooms will be operational again. By July 14, Wright said the remaining five operating rooms will be back as well.
“When I first saw the flooding, if you would have told me we’d be back up and running by the middle of July, I would have been thrilled,” Wright said. “That’s a compliment to the work that’s been done.”
Berkeley Medical Center has referred most patients with non-emergency needs to nearby medical facilities in Berkeley and Jefferson counties in the weeks following the flooding incident.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Wright said Berkeley Medical Center will also receive two mobile operating rooms July 3 to aid the facility’s transition back to full operations.
In the weeks after the flooding, Berkeley Medical Center temporarily only admitted trauma, obstetric and emergency surgery cases.
Patients with other needs were referred to the facility’s Outpatient Surgery Center or nearby facilities like the Jefferson Medical Center, which has three operating rooms.
Wright said WVU Medicine expanded hours of operation for some medical facilities to meet increased demand.
Still, the sudden bump in patient need put a strain on nearby facilities, Wright said. Plus, some patients had specific care requirements that surrounding facilities had difficulty meeting.
To meet additional needs, Wright said the Berkeley Medical Center also referred patients to facilities farther away, including Morgantown and Winchester, Virginia.
While some of those referrals pushed patients outside of the WVU Health System, Wright said ongoing coordination between medical facilities made referrals like these easier.
“One of the good things about health care is, even though we sometimes compete with other systems for patients, when any health care facilities are in a challenging situation, everybody steps up for good patient care,” he said.
While the flooding might have put a strain on medical facilities in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, Wright said he was “so proud” of staff members at the hospitals for picking up the slack.
“The team has really done a good job of making sure patients receive the care they need,” he said. “I’m proud of how they [have] come through this, but I’ll also be glad when this is all over and behind us.”
Full operations at the Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg are slated to resume in early July, following works of construction work.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
West Virginia geospatial officials are developing new technology to help visualize flood and landslide risk in the state. The project aims to create more accessible and updated community-level flood risk data.
Flooding events like these are familiar territory for many residents. According to the West Virginia GIS Technical Center, 286 communities across the state are located directly on flood plains — areas adjacent to waterways that can become inundated by rising water levels.
The center has long worked to identify flood risks through digital mapping software. On Sunday, state analysts presented new developments in this effort to the West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding.
Currently, the center is working to strengthen local flood risk data and to create data visualization tools more easily understood by members of the public, according to Co-Director Aaron Maxwell.
Often, emergency management data comes from the federal level, which limits the level of detail available on the local level.
The center is working to update structural and flood plain data across the state to “support the public and flood plain managers in flood-prone communities,” and to develop a “higher grain of detail than what’s available with federal tools,” Maxwell said.
Last year, the center began developing the West Virginia Flood Resiliency Framework through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This has allowed the center to develop mapping and modeling tools on flood risk and resiliency across the state, Maxwell said.
Beyond modeling how waterways and properties would be affected by rising water levels, Maxwell said the center is also conducting a statewide survey to assess how residents feel about flood risks and recovery efforts in their community.
The center will then flesh out additional reports on flood risk preparedness locally, Maxwell said.
By providing resources like new data visualization software and survey reports to the public, Maxwell said the center hopes to bolster “data-driven decision-making in the state,” like corroborating emergency relief grant requests with concrete data.
Maxwell also said that the center has been working with West Virginia’s State Resiliency Office to compile these resources into a “one-stop shop for people to go to, to investigate their flood risk.”
This furthers the center’s goals of providing more accessible data for the public. Pulling it all together in one location is easier for every-day residents, like how 3D visualization tools are more easily understood than convoluted or industry-specific information, Maxwell said.
Aaron Maxwell, co-director of the West Virginia GIS Technical Center, speaks to members of the West Virginia Legislature Sunday.
Photo Credit: Perry Bennett/WV Legislative Photography
The center is also working to develop tools that can assess risks associated with flooding, like landslides.
Kurt Donaldson, geographic information system (GIS) manager at the center, said that landslides are the second most costly form of natural disaster to West Virginia, second only to flooding.
“Just where West Virginia is, with the steep slopes, landslides are always an issue,” he said during the committee meeting Sunday. “Sometimes they get categorized as flood-damaged structures when it was associated with a mudslide.”
Donaldson said that the center is developing a state landslide susceptibility grid.
Like the flood risk visualization maps, these aim to convey to local officials and members of the public emergency risks present in their communities. “It can be useful for identifying areas that are susceptible to landslides,” he said.
While the center will continue to work on the project in the coming months, Maxwell said their NSF funding ends in October, requiring sustainable, long-term funding resources to keep data up to date.
Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer, said that flood risk management is often overlooked in financial discussions within the Legislature, which he views as an oversight.
“Flooding has been, in budget terms at least, virtually ignored for 100 years,” he said during Sunday’s meeting. “We’ve got the other highways, water, sewer, broadband, et cetera infrastructure, but flooding is not on our agenda as a major infrastructure need for West Virginia.”
Swope said that he and members of the Legislature should prioritize flood risk mitigation funding in upcoming financial discussions.
“As money becomes available after other infrastructure needs are met, I think we should give serious consideration to doing what we can for flood mitigation, and we’ll choose the highest priority places first,” he said.
Swope also said that preventing damages associated with natural disasters like floods would ultimately limit state spending on emergency response efforts.
“It’s not an expense that wouldn’t pay for itself with the proper application,” he said. “If this information had been available 100 years ago, there might be a lot of towns and cities that have a lot less damages due to floods.”
To participate in the West Virginia GIS Technical Center’s flood resiliency survey, visit the center’s West Virginia Flood Resilience Framework website.
For more information on local flood risk in West Virginia, visit the West Virginia GIS Technical Center’sWest Virginia Flood Tool.
This 3D model from the West Virginia GIS Technical Center shows how rising water levels would affect a West Virginia home.
Image Credit: West Virginia Flood Tool/West Virginia GIS Technical Center
A total of 26 counties in West Virginia are now under a state of emergency declaration following heavy rains, tornadoes and storms last week, and the heavy rains and storms that hit the state on April 11.
A total of 26 counties in West Virginia are now under a state of emergency declaration following heavy rains, tornadoes and storms last week, and the heavy rains and storms that hit the state on April 11.
Gov. Jim Justice has amended last week’s State of Emergency to include Boone, Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Jackson, Logan, Mingo, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wayne and Wirt counties.
The initial group included Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln and Nicholas counties on April 2, and then two days later, the governor added Barbour, Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Wetzel, and Wood counties. On April 8, Justice added Pleasants County.
West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) road crews continue to work to assess and clean up damage caused by a massive storm that moved through the state on April 11.
Most of the state had been under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. Thursday. Tornadoes did not materialize, but high winds and a largely stationary storm front dumped record amounts of rainfall on the Kanawha Valley and other parts of West Virginia, leading to mud and rock slides, downed trees and flash flooding.
Some parts of the state received five inches of rainfall in the space of several hours.
WVDOH Chief Engineer of Operations Joe Pack said the worst of the flooding was concentrated north of Interstate 64.
As of 2 p.m. Friday, April 12, multiple roads remained closed by high water in Kanawha, Cabell, Jackson, Clay, Mason, Lincoln, Pleasants, Wood, Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Morgan, Brooke, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler and Wetzel counties.
In Kanawha County, record rainfall overwhelmed storm drains on Interstate 64 near the Greenbrier Street exit, flooding the interstate. WVDOH work crews waded into the rushing water with rakes to clear the drains by hand.
Pack said that, once the water recedes, WVDOH road crews can assess any damage to the roadway and plan any repairs.
The State of Emergency declaration is a proactive measure ensuring the allocation of necessary resources and expediting emergency response efforts. It allows state and local agencies to take swift and decisive actions to mitigate the dangers to protect the lives and property of West Virginians.
Residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and monitor official emergency management and local media accounts for updates.
Last week, Justice issued a State of Preparedness for all 55 counties, which is still in effect.
After a week of inclement weather, the Ohio River is higher in Wheeling than it has been in 20 years.
The Ohio River reached “Moderate Flood Stage” in Wheeling on Thursday, a height of 40 feet. The waters were expected to crest at nearly 42 feet.
Major flooded areas included Water Street at Heritage Port and most of the southern end of Wheeling Island near the Wheeling Island Stadium.
The Mayor of Wheeling, Glenn Elliot told MetroNews “Talkine” that the river last crested this high in 2004, but people who live near the river are accustomed to floods.
Free parking is available to park cars for those in flooded areas in the 10th Street and Intermodal Parking Garage.
According to a release from the City of Wheeling 1-70 Exit 0 and the Bridgeport Bridge will remain open for residents and businesses.
Onlookers in vehicles are being asked to avoid flooded areas.
To prepare for flood cleanup, the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department offered free tetanus shots Friday for West Virginia residents.
The Ohio River is expected to remain in flood stage across portions of the area through the weekend.
