Red Cross Responds to Flooding in W. Va.

Written by Becky Orfinger, Staff Writer, RedCross.org, with news reports

July 9, 2001 —Heavy rains caused severe flooding in West Virginia and Kentucky Sunday (July 8), destroying homes and causing at least four deaths, CNN reported. According to Mark Rigsby, a spokesman for the West Virginia Office of Emergency Services, the flood damage in the southern part of the state is "widespread." The American Red Cross opened more than 20 shelters in the state, which accommodated about 500 people Sunday night.

West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise's helicopter was used to rescue several people trapped on their roofs after flooding there this weekend.

Gov. Bob Wise, whose helicopter was used to rescue several people trapped on their roofs and ferry a heart patient to a hospital, declared a state of emergency in eight counties — Boone, Fayette, Raleigh, Summers, Mercer, Wyoming, McDowell and Doddridge. The one reported death was a woman in Wyoming County who apparently drowned when the Guyandotte River burst its banks, authorities said. The Guyandotte River was at 18 feet — 5 feet above flood stage and inches above the 1977 record of 17.76 feet, meteorologist John Sikora told the Associated Press.

In rural eastern Kentucky, a 35-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl died when their Bracken County mobile home collapsed, according to news reports. In Florence, Kentucky, a man died after high winds blew a tree down on top of him.

David Neal, director of the Fayette County Office of Emergency Services, told CNN that five inches of rain fell within four hours on Sunday, destroying 152 houses and causing many more evacuations. Jack Bowden, Neal's counterpart in Raleigh County, said that at least seven homes were destroyed there. "There are a lot of mountain roads, and we've had a lot of mudslides," he told the media. "The rain just came down in buckets."

According to an Amtrak spokesperson, train service was interrupted as well because of the weather. More than 200 passengers traveling from Chicago to Washington were forced off the train and onto a bus in Charleston, after 50 miles of rail track were closed. In Wyoming County, rescuers reached several families trapped in floating mobile homes, according to the Associated Press.

Some are calling this the worst flood in West Virginia history.

Several other heavy rainstorms in the area from May 15 to June 11 this year caused millions of dollars in damage, but Gov. Wise told the Associated Press that damages caused by Sunday's rains would be even more costly. "The personal and emotional damage is going to be far worse this time around," he said. "The monetary damage is going to be much, much higher, both to the individuals and to the state of West Virginia. This is totally a different flood from what we saw six months or six weeks ago."

Red Cross workers in West Virginia continue to provide shelter and feeding in affected areas. Currently, four Red Cross emergency response vehicles (ERVs) are on site and serving meals to the hardest hit communities. Approximately 20 shelters remain open, but the number of people seeking refuge is unknown because storm-related power interruptions continue to hamper coordination efforts. The Red Cross reports that several 911 centers are also down due to power outages.