CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Daylight Saturday told the full story after a night of high water and frayed nerves in central West Virginia and the Kanawha Valley. Strong thunderstorms Friday afternoon and Friday night sent already swollen streams out of their banks and caused drainage ditches to struggle.
High water was reported in Kanawha County where many were stranded in their homes.
“Most of it was just people stranded in their homes,” said Kanawha County Deputy Emergency Services Director C.W. Sigman. “Several fire departments responded. We also had water in basements and calls of that nature. Most of those were in the Clendenin area.”
Sigman and Kanawha County officials spent much of Saturday morning keeping an eye on the Elk River. The Elk continued to rise at mid-morning and was expected to crest above flood stage at the Queen Shoals gauge sometime around mid-day.
“As far as I know there’s no homes directly affected by the Elk River itself,” said Sigman. “We did have some homes impacted by backed up storm drains and small stream flooding and things of that nature.”
Although some homes took on water, Sigman said there had been no reports of significant property damage or homes destroyed.
Putnam County dispatchers had a report of a man who lost his car while trying to drive through a flooded area along Manila Creek. The water apparently lifted the car off the ground and started downstream. The driver managed to finally get out of the car after it became partially submerged and swam to shore. The car, according to the caller to 911, floated on down stream out of sight.
There were similar high water issues in Clay, Roane, Webster, and Nicholas County.
Appalachian Power reported more than 10,000 without power in its West Virginia service territory. The bulk of those were in Clay, Roane, and Kanawha Counties.
More rain is in the forecast for the next several days. National Weather Service officials expected some of the showers will prompt more flood watches for the region.