FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. — High water cleanup was underway in parts of east-central West Virginia on Monday morning after heavy rain that started Sunday.
Verified rain totals from the National Weather Service in Charleston put high amounts at 2.63 in. in Nicholas County, 2.56 in. in Fayette County and 2.38 in. in Pocahontas County.
“Cells were just training along, not moving too fast,” said James Zvolenksy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston about the reasons for all the rain.
Locally, greater rain numbers were reported in some communities.
“It’s just unfortunate that amount of rain came down at that level,” said Bill Hannabass, city manager in Oak Hill, of the heavy rain that fell over a span of a few hours in his Fayette County city.
“It just makes for an impossible situation.”
Hannabass talked with MetroNews on Monday morning while out assessing storm damage with David Kirk, Oak Hill’s public works director.
The two started in Minden before traveling to other parts of the Oak Hill area and reported water up into homes and damaged roadways.
“Many, many people in Oak Hill have a personal problem with the water now, i.e. water in your basement, water in your crawl spaces, those kinds of issues and I feel for you and I can empathize with you. I have water in my basement at the moment to,” Hannabass said.
He was urging residents to only contact emergency officials for emergencies in the immediate flash flooding aftermath.
Governor Jim Justice declared a State of Emergency in Fayette County on Sunday following local declarations for Oak Hill, Minden, Scarbro and Whipple from the Fayette County Commission.
Water rescues were reported in Minden on Sunday night.
An emergency shelter was opened at Warms Hands From Warm Hearts in Oak Hill.
By 10 a.m. Monday, Flood Warnings from the National Weather Service has been lifted for Pocahontas, Webster and Nicholas counties along with parts of Randolph, Upshur, Lewis and Fayette counties.
Drier weather was ahead, according to Zvolensky.
“We’re not looking too bad really all week,” he said.
Hannabass said he was thankful the storm effects were limited to property.
No injuries or deaths were being reported in Oak Hill at the start of Monday.
“We’re very fortunate. It was a very hazardous situation with no warning,” Hannabass said. “We can replace a lot of things but we can’t replace lives.”