Town of Clendenin is a 'river'

Flood waters in Elkview

23 die in West Virginia's 3rd-deadliest flood

Flooding that swamped West Virginia killed 23 people. Rainfalls of 10 inches in a day was the culprit. Only the Buffalo Creek flood in 1972 (when 125 died after a dam break) and a November 1985 flood (when 38 died from a combination of Hurricane Juan's remnants and another storm) have killed more people in West Virginia flood history.

15 died in Greenbrier County and 6 in Kanawha County.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomlin declared a state of emergency in 44 counties. That's 80% of the state.

President Obama declared an official disaster in West Virginia, clearing the way for funding in Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties, the hardest hit by the flooding although many other areas were inundated by up to 10 inches of rain in 24 hours.

500,00 were without power and roads were impassable because of high water.

The hardest hit counties were Greenbrier, Nicholas, Fayette, Kanawha and Webster. The southern part of the state bore the brunt of the torrential rains.

The Greenbrier Classic July 7-10, part of the PGA Tour, was canceled because the course was flooded.

In Elkview, 15 miles northeast of Charleston, a road along the hillside was cleared Friday to rescue at least 500 people who were trapped inside the mall for more than 24 hours after a connecting bridge collapsed.

 

Rescue workers from Marion County have returned home after going to southern West Virginia to deal with Mother Nature’s mess. They rescued dozens of people in Charmco near Rainelle in Greenbrier County.

The Marion County Rescue Squad, Downtown Grill, 3 Rivers Iron and Metal and Fritz Rugrats in White Hall sent a trailer truck with 36,000 pounds of donated water, cleaning supplies, brooms, shovels, buckets and personal hygiene items on its way to southern West Virginia flood victims.

Teena Field Ailstock and others from Monongah are taking donations to the flood areas. She’s accepting donations at her house. Just leave them on the porch if she isn’t home.

Writes Teena: “I’ll see that they get where they are needed.”

WVU football coach Dana Holgorsen also was involved in collecting items for flood victims  in the Mountaineer Field parking lot Saturday.

Go to the John Olesky Facebook page to listen to Cabin Creek native/East Bank graduate Jason O’Brien’s rendition of “Pray for West Virginia,” a song about the flooding. O’Brien is a certified nursing assistant living in Leewood, West Virginia who grew up in Jerry West territory.


For an excellent article on the Buffalo Creek flooding when the dam broke in 1972, click on http://appalachianmagazine.com/2014/07/14/buffalo-creek-disaster-42-years-later-appalachian-magazine/