NOLAN, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways says it make take 4-5 weeks to clear tons of mud that slid from a hillside above U.S. Route 119 in Mingo County Thursday night cutting off access to a small community.
Approximately 25 residents who live near Nolan were taken out by boats and ATVs Friday afternoon. Thirteen other residents decided to stay after electricity was restored.
There was initial concern about how to stop the slide.
“The slide is continuing to move,” Jimmy Gianato, state director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management reported on Friday morning. “In addition to that, there’s a small stream that comes from that area. That stream is now blocked and water is backing up behind it.”
The slide, which state officials estimated was more than 20 feet deep in places, happened on Big Splint Hollow Road at around 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
The slide impacted approximately 30 families.
“We want to get those people out to make sure they’re safe,” Gianato said on MetroNews “Talkline.”
A temporary shelter was open Friday at the Williamson National Guard Armory for those residents. Officials with the American Red Cross will be working with them during the slide cleanup.
Authorities said the mud knocked three mobile homes off of their foundations and one of those homes was partially buried. Only one of the homes was occupied at the time. No one was hurt, according to emergency responders at the scene.
The state DOH had engineers at the scene Friday.