Flooded West Virginia Towns Heaped in Mud

Written by Stephanie Kriner, Staff Writer, RedCross.org, with news reports

July 10, 2001 —  Mud up to two-feet thick still clogged roads and overflowed into buildings on Tuesday (July 10) in southern West Virginia towns devastated by what could turn out to be the most costly flood in the state's history. Torrential rains on Sunday following two months of sporadic heavy rainfall triggered flash flooding across the region that caused well over $20 million in damages, officials said.

As many as 3,000 homes were damaged by water or mudslides, bridges were washed away and streets and yards were left caked in thick mud. Flooding is common in the mountainous region, where homes, roads and railroad tracks cluster along creeks and rivers at the bottom of narrow valleys.

But residents told the Associated Press that they had never seen such severe damage occur from a flood. "I saw a school bus completely covered in water. I saw a casket floating down the street. I saw motor homes and mobile homes floating in front of me," said Bill Wade, a resident of Kimball, one of the hardest hit towns.

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

Sunday's heavy rainfall saturated the streams that wind through the region's narrow valleys. The Guyandotte River, normally 6 inches deep at Corinne, swelled to 20 feet deep Sunday. An overwhelmed flood gauge in Welch stopped working when the Tug Fork River rose to 17.8 feet, more than 4 feet above flood stage, the National Weather Service said.

Nearly 8 inches of rain fell Sunday in Mullens, about 15 miles southeast of Kimball, stranding drivers on mountain roads and pouring a thick layer of red mud into homes. Police blocked access into town because of mud that filled roads and buildings.

"I've been in some of these homes. There's mud two feet thick," state Delegate Lacy Wright told the Associated Press. "There's instances where they don't even know where their homes are."

The American Red Cross has opened 26 shelters in 7 affected counties and deployed more than 90 disaster relief workers to the scene of the flooding. They are providing shelter and meals to those whose homes were damaged or destroyed. In addition, Red Cross workers are touring the flood-affected areas to determine the needs of disaster victims.

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

The flooding killed one person in West Virginia and three in northern Kentucky. Thousands lost power in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and North Carolina. Amtrak suspended the operation of its passenger train that operates between Chicago and Washington, D.C., because part of the track in West Virginia was washed out.

Gov. Bob Wise, who offered his helicopter to pluck people off rooftops the day of the storm, declared a state of emergency in eight counties. Wise said he would ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance. The current flooding is the most severe in a year filled with frequent torrential rains. Sixteen other counties were made eligible for federal disaster assistance after earlier storms caused millions of dollars in damages.

"Let no one underestimate the severity of this storm," Wise said. "This is probably going to be the most costly flood in West Virginia's history."