CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Daylight Monday showed the extent of damage from flash flooding that followed several inches of rain Sunday night through early Monday morning in parts of central and southeastern West Virginia while more possibly severe storms were in the forecast.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said Larry Messina, spokesperson for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
Though property damage was extensive in places, “Thankfully, we’re not aware of anything in the realm of deaths or serious injuries,” Messina reported on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin was briefed Monday morning on the damage.
From Sunday into Monday, Jeff Hovis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, confirmed between 2 in. and 3 in. of rain fell in Wood County which lead to flooding in Mineral Wells specifically. Water rescues were reported there.
Some level of high water or flooding was reported in upwards of 150 homes in Wood County, according to Jimmy Gianato, director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
“We’ve got reports of everything from water in the living space to water in the basement,” Gianato reported.
As the storm system continued east, both Richwood and Webster Springs saw 3 in. of rain during the course of six hours which created flooding problems along the Upper Elk River and the Upper Gauley River.
People were boating, in some cases, on streets in Downtown Richwood.
Gates were closed at the Sutton Dam Monday morning while water was being released from Summersville Dam to mitigate flooding, according to Hovis.
“We are very saturated and 3 in. of rain in six hours is a lot of rain. The two (factors) combined caused issues,” he said.
Water swirled around Webster County Memorial Hospital and flowed into the health facility. As of Monday morning, the ER was still operating, though crews were working to pump 3 ft. of water out of the hospital basement and access to the facility was limited because of damage to Route 15.
Along some roads, Hovis said the water peeled back the pavement. “It probably was flowing pretty heavily,” he said.
A Flood Warning from the National Weather Service remained in effect until late Monday morning in both Nicholas County and Webster County as more storms loomed.
Through Wednesday morning, “We have a risk of severe thunderstorms, but probably the greater emphasis would be that heavy rain,” Hovis said, predicting southwestern West Virginia would see the most damaging effects from Monday’s storms.
For those hit Sunday night and Monday morning, “As wet as they are, we’ll definitely have to keep an eye out, even for those areas,” he said. High winds were also concerns with the new storms.