MCMECHEN, W.Va. — Nearly 400 homes were damaged from high water in Marshall County following flash flooding in the Northern Panhandle and north central West Virginia.
As of Sunday, 300 of those homes in McMechen reported damage from Friday’s storm.
Tom Hart, director of Office of Emergency Services in Marshall County, said the National Guard and other engineering teams arrived in the county Sunday to begin removing debris. The Guard ordered that all cars need to be removed from Marshall Street in McMechen.
“Some of the streets here in McMechen are kind of tight, so what they did was they asked for the police department to check with the residents about moving their vehicles, so they can get their equipment down some of the streets and start the debris removal,” Hart said.
Crews were out Saturday and Sunday assessing the damaged homes.
“We’ve already done some preliminary damage assessments in regards to the infrastructure in McMechen. Also, with some preliminary assessments with the number of homes that’s been impacted,” Hart said.
It’s unknown if there’s enough damage for FEMA assistance, Hart said.
“We’ll be waiting on state and federal assessment teams to come in, to go around throughout McMechen and the other parts of the county that were affected,” he said.
Several dozen water rescues were made in the county. No injuries were reported.
This weekend’s flood resulted in high water from the three small streams that run through McMechen. It was the second flood for the town in less than a week.
“Some of the same residents were flooded twice within a week of each other,” Hart said.
McMechen’s Fire Department was also damaged and is currently out of service. Fire equipment is being inspected, but everything from hoses to other gear were destroyed.