W.Va. Officials Begin Tallying Flood Damage

State officials and emergency responders are beginning to tally up the damage from flooding that hit northern and north central communities late last week and over the weekend.

The Division of Highways said Tuesday its assessing road damage in 11 counties in the region. The agency estimates 200 roads suffered some kind of damage in the July 28 and 29 storms, totaling nearly $7 million.

The hardest hit counties in terms of road damage include Wetzel, Ohio and Marshall Counties respectively, which each experienced more than $1 million in damage. They’re followed closely by Tucker and Harrison counties that each received more than $500,000 worth of damage.

Major General James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard said five schools were impacted and so far, between 600 and 700 homes have been damaged, but that number could increase.

Eight counties are under a state of emergency, but Hoyer said Tuesday he’d like to see that number expanded to 11.

The latest high water comes just over a year after devastating floods in southern and central West Virginia that killed 23 people. Hoyer said the state is still recovering from that event in the midst of new damage.

“We’ve still got people focused on that devastating, epic event we had last June, but it doesn’t matter to someone whose home was damaged over the last couple of days. That’s the primary focus,” he said. “So, we from a state perspective have to be able to manage all those things together.”

Hoyer said Tuesday, National Guard members are focused on clean-up efforts and helping communities restore their infrastructure, like water and sewer lines.