W. Va. starts digging out from massive flood damage; at least 25 dead

Officials in flood-stricken areas of West Virginia shifted their attention Sunday to repairing damage inflicted by the historic deluge that killed at least 25 people as it washed out homes, roads and bridges. Search and rescue operations continued in some pockets of the state.

And more rain is forecast Monday, creating “a risk for additional flooding concerns, especially in areas hard hit this last week,” the National Weather Service said. 

President Obama declared a major disaster in three counties on Saturday, clearing the way for people to start seeking federal aid for housing, food and rebuilding. West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Sunday that the state was “working to add more counties” to that list. The declaration covers Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas counties.

Some people in Greenbrier County were still unaccounted for, according to Tomblin's office, the Associated Press reported. Kanawha County officials were conducting search-and-rescue operations Sunday near Frame, W.Va., the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said.  

Volunteers, federal officials and 300 National Guardsmen fanned out across the state on Sunday to deliver supplies and begin the job of assessing the full extent of the damage from the flash floods. Heavy rains on Thursday rapidly overflowed creeks and rivers, driving hundreds of people from their homes.

Of those who died, 16 were in rural Greenbrier County, southeast of Charleston. Six others died in Kanawha, and one person each died in both Ohio and Jackson counties, the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a statement. 

Damage assessments continued Sunday. More than 500 homes in Roane County were damaged or destroyed by the flooding, the state emergency office said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will begin damage assessments for individual homes and businesses on Monday, plus start measuring damage to government buildings and infrastructure on Tuesday.

More than 12,000 homes and businesses had no electricity Sunday morning, according to Appalachian Power, which said at least one of its substations was submerged by the flooding. The company said it hoped to have power restored throughout the state by Monday evening.

The power outages also knocked out water service in Fayette County, the state emergency management office said Sunday.

Tomblin had said that the flooding had closed 60 roads, and many of them were destroyed.

The West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster sent out damage assessment teams on Sunday and planned to start dispatching cleanup crews Monday. The group also handed out water and cleaning supplies.

The American Red Cross said 20 shelters were opened for people displaced by the flooding.

The luxury Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. — which was forced to close and its namesake PGA Tour tournament was canceled because of damage to its golf course — provided rooms and meals to more than 200 people left homeless by the storm.

“We just hope that by providing a good meal and a comfortable and safe place to spend the night that we can help ease the pain just a little to those who are suffering so much from this unbelievable disaster," the resort’s CEO, Jim Justice, said in a statement.

The floods were the third-deadliest on record in West Virginia, according to state climatologist Kevin Law. The Buffalo Creek flood in 1972 killed 125; and floods in 1985 killed 38, Law said. 

The latest floods pushed water levels on the Elk River to some of the highest levels ever recorded. In Queen Shoals, W.Va., the river swelled to a height of 33.37 feet, breaking the record set in 1888, the weather service said.