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West Virginia death toll rises to 23 in state's worst floods in a century West Virginia death toll rises to 23 in state's worst floods in a century
(about 7 hours later)
Heavy rains that pummelled West Virginia left at least 23 people dead, and authorities said on Saturday that an unknown number of people in the hardest-hit county remained unaccounted for. Surrounded by muddy devastation, Cathy Light and her husband Chris thought it was “heaven sent” they had free burgers to munch on in a parking lot on Saturday.
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Most of the dead and all of the missing, officials believe, were in the county of Greenbrier – home of the renowned golf resort of the same name. To their left, the roof of a Dairy Queen slumped to the ground. Behind it, a trailer home was ripped from its foundation, four concrete stairs all that remained in the ground. Occasional whiffs of rotten food wafted from a nearby grocery store.
“The reports we got this morning are that Greenbrier County may still have some folks unaccounted for,” said Chris Stadelman, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s chief of staff. “It does not appear there are unaccounted-for people in other counties, but it’s still a somewhat fluid situation.” Before they jumped in a rescue boat, the Lights could only save their dog Odie and a TV that sat atop a bedroom dresser – the highest they stored anything in their house, really.
Stadelman said there were still “lots of folks in shelters” and the state would apply for federal disaster funds. Scores of homes were damaged. The heavy rains that pummeled West Virginia resulted in at least 23 deaths, leaving families homeless with the tearful realization that they will have to start from scratch.
In one bizarre twist, a woman sustained burns over two-thirds of her body after her deluged house blew up. Belinda Scott of White Sulphur Springs called her husband Ronnie and told him their house was filling up with water. She fled to the attic and waited. She smelled natural gas. Then the house exploded. “I don’t have anything,” said Cathy Light, as she ate the free meal provided by Grace Community Church. “Where do we go now?”
Scott was able to break a vent and get out to a porch, then make it on to a tree, to which she clung for hours before being rescued by state police, her husband said. The scene in Clendenin, in Kanawha County, wasn’t as deadly as in Ranielle. Fifteen people died in the town in Greenbrier County, the only county where Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration believes people are still missing.
“My wife was out there four and a half hours hanging in a tree with a house burning right beside her, flood waters running all around her,” said Ronnie. “It does not appear there are unaccounted for people in other counties, but it’s still a somewhat fluid situation,” said Chris Stadelman, Tomblin’s chief of staff.
About 500 people were stranded overnight in a shopping center when a bridge washed out, and dozens of other people had to be plucked off rooftops or rescued from their cars. The Greenbrier County sheriff, Jan Cahill, described “complete chaos” in his county. Ranielle Mayor Andy Pendleton wept as she surveyed her town.
“Roads destroyed, bridges out, homes burned down, washed off foundations,” he said. “Multiple sections of highway just missing. Pavement just peeled off like a banana. I’ve never seen anything like that.” “I weep for my people, I weep for the businesses,” she said.
The state division of homeland security reported 15 people killed in Greenbrier County as rescue efforts continue. Other deaths were reported in Kanawha, Jackson and Ohio counties. About six buses of people whose homes were either without power or too damaged to inhabit were evacuated. Some were taken initially to a fire department facility, but then it flooded so they were moved to an abandoned store. When that started to flood, buses took the evacuees to a church 40 miles away.
Two hundred national guardsmen were assisting in eight counties, helping local crews with water rescues, search and extraction efforts, and health and welfare checks. The governor declared a state of emergency in 44 of 54 counties and authorized up to 500 soldiers to assist. Search and rescue teams went house to house, marking those checked with a spray-painted X. Abandoned pets were taken to a shelter. A water department filtration system built with a $2.6m loan was damaged, Pendleton said.
The governor said he had planned to fly around the hard-hit areas, but wasn’t able to do so because all state aircraft were being used for rescues. Help came from many sources, including two search and rescue teams from Virginia. The West Virginia Division of Homeland Security reported 15 people killed in Greenbrier County. Other deaths were reported in Kanawha, Jackson and Ohio counties.
Eric Blackshire was one of the stranded at Crossings Mall, a mix of restaurants, stores and a hotel in Elkview, about 15 miles north-east of Charleston. Some had to sleep in their cars or at businesses overnight. Blackshire opted for a hotel room. About 500 people were stranded overnight in a shopping center when a bridge washed out and dozens of others had to be plucked off rooftops or rescued from their cars. A gravel access road was built to let them out.
“It was kind of like a hurricane party. I guess you could call it a flood party. There were lots of beers being drank last night,” he said. On Saturday, Tomblin asked federal authorities for a major disaster declaration to get help for Greenbrier and the two other counties hardest hit. Tomblin’s office said he made an expedited verbal request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) for individual assistance for Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties. Such assistance includes housing and crisis counseling.
He was able to get to safety on Friday when volunteer firefighters used a rope to guide people down a hillside. Crews were working to build a gravel road on the backside of the shopping plaza. Some of the heaviest rainfall was in Greenbrier County, where the Greenbrier luxury resort and golf course is nestled in the mountains. The PGA Tour has canceled a tournament there from 4 to 10 July because the course is overrun by floodwaters.
An area near the West Virginia-Virginia border received at least 9in of rain while other parts of the state had 3-5in, National Weather Service hydrologist John Sikora said. While most of the rain had tapered off on Friday, there were still scattered showers, thunderstorms and river flood warnings. “Cancelling The Greenbrier Classic is certainly the most prudent course of action as our foremost concern is the well-being of those who are having to live through this tragic situation,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a news release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Some of the heaviest rainfall was in Greenbrier County, where the Greenbrier luxury resort and golf course is nestled in the mountains. The course, overrun by floodwaters, is scheduled to host a PGA tour event from 4-10 July. Resort owner Jim Justice said the needs of flood-ravaged West Virginians were of utmost concern. Two healthcare facilities at the resort will be open this weekend.
“It’s like nothing I’ve seen,” owner Jim Justice, a Democratic candidate for governor, said in a statement. “But our focus right now isn’t on the property, golf course or anything else. We’re praying for the people and doing everything we can to get them the help they need.” “All of our focus needs to be on helping all of the people of our great state,” Justice said. “So many have lost loved ones, their homes, and have no place to go.”
The professional golfer Bubba Watson was apparently visiting the resort and tweeted photos of entire holes underwater: “Prayers for @The_Greenbrier & surrounding areas. We are without power & it’s still raining. Never seen this much rain! #WestVirginiaBeSafe”. An area near the West Virginia-Virginia border received at least 9in of rain while other parts of the state had 3in to 5in, National Weather Service hydrologist John Sikora said. A flood warning remained in effect for Greenbrier County until 6.30pm on Saturday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was sending teams to help with damage assessments. Others waited days to see their loved ones rescued. Kari Townsend of Clendenin sat at a shelter in Charleston for most of Friday before her niece, Britani Shafer, and her niece’s five-month-old baby, Shay, made it to safety.
The mother and child had been holed up in a doctor’s office in flooded downtown Clendenin since Thursday afternoon, and started running out of baby formula. Shafer could only send a couple text messages to let her family know what was going on.
Shafer, whose neighbor was able to get her out in a truck, brought the pair back to meet up with their family.
“There was not a dry eye, let me tell you,” Townsend said. “The baby is fine, [Britani] is good. It’s awesome.”