PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — This week’s weather has claimed a life in Wood County.
According to Wood County 911 Director Mike Shook, a woman died in Davisville when she tried to drive through a road flooded by the Little Kanawha River.
“Water flipped the car over and we lost her,” he said.
The fatal accident happened about 7 p.m. Thursday on Nicholette Road in Wood County.
The victim has been identified as Valerie Ann Swisher, 49, of Davisville.
“The area of Nicolette Road where this incident occurred is a deep dip in the road way,” a post from the Wood County Sheriff’s Department said. “The involved vehicle was recovered in approx. 15-20 feet of water off of the roadway edge. It is unknown why the driver of the vehicle entered into the flooded area.”
Shook said the water in the Davisville area and all along the Little Kanawha has been steadily rising for the past 24 hours. With the Ohio River above flood stage, it has nowhere to drain and the waters are backing up, creating flooding in the outlying areas east of the city.
So far, he said there were no reports of any damage, but he knows that will change.
“I’m expecting it once the water drops and people can get back to their places and report,” he said.
As for the city of Parkersburg, the flood wall has done its job and kept the muddy waters of the Ohio River out of the city’s downtown for the past two days.
“I think it has kept it off the main drag on Market Street and down to our government buildings. They would also be affected if the flood wall wasn’t there,” he said.
The Ohio River crested in Parkersburg Friday morning, according to Shook it has been slow to recede because of water coming in from the opposite shore.
“The water coming in from Marietta, Ohio is fed by a couple of creeks. They went from moderate to major flooding this morning. We’re getting a lot of water coming down from them,” he said.
Shook said he’s also had reports of high water which has caused damage in the northern end of the county around Williamstown, but has been unable to get there to survey the damage. He hoped to reach those areas this afternoon.