WV Floods Story Archives - Page 2 of 2 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Boys Basketball Team Makes Husky History, Despite Lack of School

On the far side of the Charleston Civic Center, about a thousand blue and red clad supporters scream their support.

Many are wearing shirts emblazoned with #Riverstrong on the back. For these fans, tonight is as much about showing a community of resilience as celebrating a team making history.

That’s because last June, flooding devastated much of southern West Virginia, destroying homes, buildings and schools. One of the affected facilities was Herbert Hoover High School, which did not reopen for the 2016-2017 school year. Instead, Hoover now shares a building with Elkview Middle School. The middle school attends in the morning and the high school in the afternoon. But despite these odds, Hoover’s varsity basketball team made it to the final 8 state tournament for the first time in the school’s history.

“I think the one thing that people need to know is – ok we got flooded. We lost our high school. Our kids are going to a half a day of school cramming as many core classes as they can in a certain period of time, practicing basketball in the YMCA and they haven’t missed a beat,” said Joey Robertson, father of Hoover junior Gavin Robertson.

“The one thing I learned through all this is just how resilient students can be and just roll with the punches,” he said. “If it happened it to me, or when it did happen, I was devastated! I mean here you don’t have a high school, what’s your kid going to do? But our kids and our community, they’ve just rolled with it, haven’t let it get them down.”

Hoover was undoubtedly the underdog in Thursday’s game, but senior Chase King said the team came to fight.

“Looking back last year with all the seniors we lost and then over the summer when we lost our school, it was really hard to picture any success this year,” he said.

Both King and Coach Josh Daniels said what makes this team different is how hard the team worked both in and out of season.

“This is probably the toughest bunch of guys who’ve come through the Elk River,” King continued. “I mean so much heart comes through this program and it’s all thanks to these guys.”

On the court, King and the rest of the Huskies are battled it out against Fairmont. It was a tough slog for them. Fairmont was big, fast and strong and the Polar Bears got a couple points early in the game.

At times it seemed like the Huskies might be on the path toward clawing their way back at just five or six points behind. But as the game progressed, the Polar Bears began to build more of a lead.

And then it was over. Fairmont 59, Hoover 39.

For Hoover Principal Michael Kelley, just getting to the state tournament is a testament to the tenacity and resilience of this group of boys, though.

“I think this team – I think that’s one of the reasons – in addition to it being our first state championship team – I think it’s one of the reasons the community is so excited about it – they kind of embody what the community has gone through,” he said.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that Herbert Hoover High School competed in the sweet 16 state tournament. The school actually competed in the final 8 state tournament.

W.Va. Recreational Waters Contaminated After Flood

During the heavy rains earlier this summer, sewers systems overflowed and even broke, pastures flooded and rivers breached their banks. All this water mingled into a contaminated soup of surface water, sewage and chemicals. As one public health expert put it – anything that was on the road during the flood had the possibility of getting in the water.

Now, the Elk River and other local water ways used for recreation are experiencing elevated bacteria levels. The risk to human health is mostly gastrointestinal. Waterborne diseases from bacteria or parasites may cause vomiting, diarrhea or nausea, according to the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.

Skin, ear or eye infections are also possible, though less common, after contact with contaminated water.

To ensure recreational safety, the health department recommends looking for posted public health advisory signs, avoiding swimming in warm, slow-moving or stagnant water, keeping your head out of the water, and washing thoroughly with soap and clean water after contact with flooded surface waters.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Mold Public Health Risk After Floods

Residents affected by the West Virginia floods may be at higher risk for mold exposure. While common reactions to mold include a cough, congestion, runny nose, and sore throat, more serious complications can develop, including lung infections. People with chronic lung conditions or weakened immune systems may be more susceptible to complications.

Mold likes to grow in damp, wet places – like homes hit during the recent floods in West Virginia.

Signs of mold growth include staining on surfaces, a musty odor, dark spots on or around vents, water stains and peeling or curling of vinyl floors or wallpaper, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources.

Special face masks and protective clothing should be worn while trying to remove mold from a home or indoor space. Professional help may be necessary to completely eradicate the growth.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Locals Provide Disaster Assist After West Virginia Floods

Update: This story originally aired on NPR on June 26. Since then 10 counties have been declared federal disaster areas and the state of emergency has been lifted for 32. The death count has been updated to 23.

Marsha Larch lived in the same Clendenin, West Virginia, home for 50 years – ever since she got married at the age of 16.

“And I never seen water like this before in my life,” she said.

Larch stands on what used to be her back deck, looking out onto the river at least 35 feet below. On the night of the flood, Larch fled to higher ground in her camper as water rushed into her home. By the time the water receded more than a day later, stinking mud covered the surface of everything lying outside her home: items for recycling, furniture and even clothes that had washed out from the living room.

Drive down Larch’s street and you’ll see she is not the only one who has lost everything.

At least 24 people are confirmed dead and thousands are still without power and water after severe flooding devastated several West Virginia towns Thursday. Forty-four counties are still under a state of emergency. While FEMA has approved some disaster assistance, the vast majority of rescue, cleanup and support so far has been provided by the local communities.

“You’ll go from what looks to be normal, everyday houses just fine to complete destruction, just the foundations left with nothing but mud,” said Less Mitchell of the West Virginia FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team.

Marsha Larch’s kitchen after the flood waters receded.

“We’ve been doing wide area searches looking for any individual who may still be trapped within their structure,” he said.

FEMA approved aid to three West Virginia counties Saturday.

But for the past three days, most of the search and rescue and disaster relief has been provided by locals, including the West Virginia National Guard.

“So the challenge is you got folks that couldn’t get out who got injured, and we’re still trying to find a way with first responders, with us backing them out, just trying to get to people, but there was just water everywhere,” said Captain Will Hargis.

He pointed at a stop sign they used to gauge whether the guard’s low-medium tactical vehicles could clear the rising water. They couldn’t. He said they ended up using swift water rescue crews to access those trapped by the flood. Others were pulled from their homes by neighbors like Joe Snider who got folks out using fishing boats.

“Well, I got Betty Blackwell out, but I could carry her out. It wasn’t as deep, and this was deeper, and I had to put ‘em in a boat and bring them,” said Snider.

In Clendenin, Marsha Larch leaned over her deck rail and pointed at a support pole sliding slowly toward the river in the thick mud. It’s just a matter of time, she said, before the whole house collapses onto the bank.

“I’m abandoning it,” she said. “I can’t do nothing. You know…you’re retired you can’t…I worked for 36 years for the power company, and I retired and worked on my home and got it all ready and now it’s gone.”

Like most of the people affected by the floods, Larch said she never carried flood insurance; the water never came up high enough to need it.

Most of the water began to recede Saturday morning. Now all that’s left is a coating of mud that smells strongly of feces from overflowed sewer lines. Throughout the hardest hit towns, piles of mud-encrusted furniture littered front lawns like some kind of perverse yard sale.

Larch said she holds out hope that FEMA will help her rebuild her home. She said she had just finished renovations that she looked forward to enjoying in retirement.

In the meantime, she said, she will take the camper, what she can salvage from her home, and relocate.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.