WELCH, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice issued a proclamation Friday evening declaring a state of emergency in seven southern West Virginia counties following heavy rain Thursday and Friday.
The proclamation covers Fayette, Greenbrier, Logan, McDowell, Monroe, Raleigh, and Wyoming counties. A state of emergency allows for an unhindered response of resources to help with the cleanup.
Justice has also authorized the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Mike Todorovich to continue to support local counties with the assistance of the National Guard.
The city of Welch in McDowell County got the heaviest rainfall of this week’s weather system which contributed to flooding along the Tug Fork River and Elkhorn Creek in the county. Welch recorded 3.3 inches of rain as of Thursday evening, the most of any spot in West Virginia.
The waters rose and the runoff created major problems in the county’s western communities like Bradshaw, Iaeger, Berwind, and Coalwood. Water impacted several homes and roadways, but is now starting to recede. Welch itself had some buildings in town impacted.
“We’re doing much better, but we still have a few roads closed and inaccessible. We’ve got a few power outages around the area, but other than that, we’re actually in pretty good shape,” said Teresa Vandyke, Emergency Services Director for McDowell County.
Vandyke and her staff were coordinating with the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to get into the field for damage assessment to personal property and the roadways of the county.
Downstream the Tug Fork rose above flood stage, but flood walls in Matewan and in particular at Williamson provided necessary protection against a catastrophe. The Tug crested Friday morning and had started to recede. Most of the problems in Mingo County were associated with debris in the roads and water covering the roads.
Wyoming County Emergency Services Director Dean Meadows had feared the worst with the rising Guyandotte River during the dark hours of Thursday night, however he reported Friday morning problems with the rising water there were minimal and waters were receding. There were some road damages in Wyoming County which will require repairs by the Division of Highways.
The Raleigh County community of Beaver had flooding along some of its low lying streets Thursday evening, but by Friday had started to recede.
“They had to evacuate some areas so they have Red Cross and VOADD to help in hat area today,” said Lora Lipscomb, Public Information Officer for the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
A washed out access road to the Raleigh Center in Daniels was a chief concern on Thursday evening. During the evening, a private contractor was able to construct an alternate access road to the property and the nursing home.
The National Weather Service reported minor flooding along the Bluestone River in the areas of Spanishburg and Pipestem. Those areas as well as the Meadow, New, and Coal Rivers were expected to have minor flooding as the runoff continued into the weekend.
Across most of West Virginia the rain changed over to snow early Friday morning which stemmed the rising water. Officials cautioned freezing temperatures overnight on Friday could create slick road conditions into the weekend and there are high wind warnings for the state’s higher mountains.