WEST HAMLIN, W.Va. — A usually peaceful roadside stream which normally has a few feet of water in it turned into a raging river Thursday night in the Lincoln County community of West Hamlin.
As much as five inches of rain fell over a short period of time causing significant runoff from West Hamlin Hill. That runoff along with the rising level of the stream alongside state Route 3 created the flooding conditions.
Authorities estimate as many as two dozen homes took on water damage. Several of those homes were destroyed. The high water torn the front off of one residence along Route 3.
“I hope I never see nothing like this again,” West Hamlin resident Bill McComas told MetroNews. “By the grace of God I was spared, other people were hit harder than I was.”
Residents who didn’t get water in their homes got it high in their yards and they were out cleaning up debris Friday morning.
.@JeffJenkinsMN reports live from West Hamlin in Lincoln County on the flash flooding damage from Thursday evening. pic.twitter.com/UZrGpRhXn0
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) June 11, 2021
Lynnette Adkins, who has lived along Route 3 for 11 years, said she’s never seen this much damage.
“We had two cloudbursts. The second one was worse than the first one,” she said. “Somebody me and my husband know–he’s a preacher man and I’ve never known a preacher man to lie and he said, ‘The second cloudburst was worse than the first one’ and I honestly believe that.”
Adkins lives besides Dexter’s Garage, an autobody shop. The small stream that runs underneath it rose to the level of tearing a who in the wall of the shop, destroying several vehicles.
The West Hamlin VFD rescued 12 residents from high water situations.
Lifelong West Hamlin resident Ronald Porter, 85, saw the private bridge to his property washed away.
“You can’t beat the water,” he told MetroNews.
The state Division of Highways has already made some temporary repairs to roads that cross culverts. There’ll likely have to be more permanent work in the future. The West Hamlin water system also took on some damage.
Adkins said she was thankful there were no injuries reported.
“Well, when I finally got home I was just glad to be home, glad that I had a home to come back to. I was glad that my pets were safe and all of that. I don’t wish this on nobody,” she said.