A state of emergency was declared across five counties in West Virginia on Aug. 28 after heavy rainfall caused significant flooding in several parts of the state, damaging roads and homes.
Gov. Jim Justice issued a state of emergency in Kanawha, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, and Roane counties, enabling the West Virginia National Guard to deploy swift-water rescue teams and aerial assets in affected areas.
These assets include UH-72 Lakota and UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. The West Virginia Emergency Management Division was also urged to mobilize personnel and resources to respond to the emergency.
“The rain is causing significant flooding, damaging homes, bridges, and roads throughout the counties,” Mr. Justice’s office said in a statement.
“Additional manpower and units will be activated as requested to assist with response and recovery operations,” it added.
Kanawha County announced that radar estimates and gauge readings indicated that up to six inches of rain fell, causing flooding in Cabin Creek and a mudslide that blocked both lanes of U.S. Route 60 in Cedar Grove.
“There is a potential for a ½” to 1“ of rain. With the ground already saturated, there is a potential for further issues,” Kanawha County stated in a Facebook update on Aug. 29.
“No watches or warnings have been issued at this time by the National Weather Service. However, local officials who are on the scene are asking the public to use caution and watch for additional issues in areas where creeks and streams have already come out of their banks,” it added.
Mountains and Valleys
The communities that were hit the hardest were along hillsides where runoff flowed into narrow valleys.A bridge in the Chelyan area whose timber deck was lifted off its steel beams by debris and floodwaters was repaired on Aug. 27, only to be underwater again the following day, the State Department of Transportation said.
“The mountains we have make it really, really tough,” Mr. Justice said during his weekly media briefing.
“We’ve got more and more hardship on people, and it’s a crying shame. It’s very very, very difficult no matter what is done to be able to get away from that,” he added.
It marked the third time in a year that severe flooding hit southern West Virginia.
In February, the body of an infant was found in a submerged car in the Fayette County town of Pax. In August 2022, flooding in Fayette and Kanawha counties damaged more than 100 homes, bridges, and roads, disrupted drinking water systems, and washed out part of a public service district’s sewage collection system serving a prison.
