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On Thursday June 23, massive flooding swept across most of West Virginia. It began with a rare event- a tornado touched down in Nicholas County, West Virginia on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 21. Regional rain storms followed but nothing like what started to fall throughout a 22-county region on Thursday, June 23.
People across West Virginia right now are searching for hope, and wondering whether FEMA will provide adequate assistance for their families. Others say their faith is keeping them strong.
Within a tragic 24-36 hour period, at least 23 West Virginians perished. Thousands of homes were flooded, many of them destroyed. There were stories of terror and heroism that came out of this flood.
On Friday, June 24th Inside Appalachia host Jessica Lilly visited Richwood to speak with residents about the devastating flooding that submerged homes and businesses. Workers and volunteers rescued almost 100 people from the Nicholas County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Thursday afternoon. She recorded the stories of two men who worked to get the residents out alive. She also spoke with one of the survivors of the flood, Carol Holmes, who says she’s “West Virginia tough. Proud to be here.”
But Richwood is still recovering from a flood that hit in 2003. And it’s tough to recover with limited resources.
With such devastation, a question many of us have been asking is can these small communities rebuild? What does it take to come back from this type of disaster?
One community in southern West Virginia that was in the spotlight for massive flooding in 2001 was spared by the June 23 flood. Host Jessica Lilly wanted to find out how things were going. She made the trip to Mullens, her hometown in Wyoming County, to talk with Charlie Feller, an insurance salesman in town. Listen to the episode to hear what he had to say, 15 years after the flood that ripped through West Virginia’s coalfields.
See more photos, read stories, and tour an interactive map of the communities that were hardest hit by the 2016 flood here.
Music in this episode was provided by Randy Newman, Larry Groce and Joe Ely as heard on Mountain Stage. Other music was from Alan Cathead Johnston, Larry Dowling, and Amanda Watkins.
Our producer is Roxy Todd. Suzanne Higgins edited our show this week. Our executive producer is Jesse Wright. Our audio mixer is Zander Aloi.
We’d love to hear from you. You can e-mail us at feedback@wvpublic.org. Find us on Twitter @InAppalachia or @JessicaYLilly.
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In both the House of Delegates and the state Senate, the 2026 general election saw significant inroads for Democrats. At least one expert traces the reasons for those inroads to several key issues. Assistant News Director Maria Young spoke with Marshall University political science professor Marybeth Beller to learn more about the wins and the losses.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsDan Parks has been reporting on data center development in Tucker County, West Virginia. Parks writes a Substack called Country Roads News, which covers a rural county that’s home to Dolly Sods, Canaan Valley, Blackwater Falls and about 6,700 people. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke to Parks about his reporting.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsAppalachia has a rich history of protest music. Today, some regional musicians are using their voices to oppose data centers being built across Appalachia and the artificial intelligence they power. Folkways Reporter Andrea “river” Peterson has more.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsAI proponents say the technology will revolutionize our lives. It’s also started a conversation about creativity and what’s really art. That applies to kinds of expression that seem to have nothing to do with machines, like crochet. Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch brings us this story of how crocheters found AI invading their communal spaces and what they plan to do about it.
Continue Reading Take Me to More News
