WELCH, W.Va. — A veteran first responder in McDowell County said the level of water and the level of damage from the February 15th flood surpassed anything he’d ever seen in his hometown.
Bobby Bowman is in charge of the Office of Emergency Services and 911 in McDowell County. He knew things were going to be bad only a couple of hours after the rain started the day after Valentine’s Day. He and his full staff were on duty at the 911 center in Welch and in only a short time, they were overwhelmed.
“I think we got 700 to 800 calls that night. The next thing we knew the water was out of the river and into our parking lot. We got our cars moved and had to wade knee deep water just to get back into the building. It was a pretty wild night,” he said.
Bowman worked in law enforcement in 2001 and 2002, the last time flooding of this magnitude struck McDowell County. He said in comparison, this was far worse.
“I think it covered more of our county, 80 to 90 percent of the county was hit by this flood,” Bowman explained on MetroNews Talkline which originated from the Armory in McDowell County on Thursday.
“It was four-feet higher at the Litwar river gauge. The record was 27 feet and some, this flood was 31 feet and some. It’s four feet higher than the ’01 floods,” he added.
Bowman also recalled some of the difficult calls he and his staff had to deal with on the first night. They were calls of terror, fear, and desperation and he noted it was hard to reach people since so many roads were cut off and hard to get enough first responders to cover all of the different cries for help.
“One fellow and his doughier were trapped on top of a van for several hours until we could finally get a boat in to get them down and get them rescued here in Welch. That was heartbreaking,” he said.
Even more heartbreaking was the pickup truck which was swept into the swollen river by a mudslide and eventually claimed the lives of three people including a two-year old boy.
Bowman said he and his staff had to shift from rescue into recovery mode very quickly. The mission of saving lives quickly turned to one of meeting needs. The armory became a staging point for relief supplies, food, and other support services for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed. With a lot of help, Bowman has led the effort to get things organized. He continued to work diligently to stay on top of it. He also credited a lot of outside support pouring into the town like the Red Cross and West Virginia National Guard.
The county lost 36 private bridges which link people to their homes. When asked what the county needed, he specifically mentioned building materials for replacement of those bridges. However, he said any and all donated items are welcomed and although battered, the community’s spirit remained strong.
“It’s just a process and once we get to the end, hopefully we’ll be right back where we were,” he said.