WHEELING, W.Va. — Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Sunday afternoon that the death toll from the Saturday night flood in and around Wheeling had risen to 5 people with several others missing.
Morrisey said up to 4 inches of rain fell over Wheeling, Triadelphia, Elm Grove and Valley Grove in less than an hour.
Morrisey traveled to the area Sunday afternoon after providing an update to his Facebook Sunday morning regarding the devastating flooding.
“Very sad to share that last night’s flash flooding in Wheeling has resulted in multiple fatalities, with some folks still missing,” Morrisey said. “I have declared a state of emergency for Ohio County.”
In addition to the state of emergency, the Ohio County Commission and the City of Wheeling have also declared a local state of emergency.
The Wheeling Fire Department posted this information to their Facebook page along with photos and videos of the flooding to warn residents.
“Flash flooding occurred in the City of Wheeling and in Ohio County last night,” the Wheeling-Ohio County EMA said in a Facebook post. “There is extensive damage to roads and bridges. Many roads are closed. People have lost their homes from this flooding.”
Public Information Officer for the City of Wheeling Philip Stahl told MetroNews that this has been an unprecedented flash flooding event there.
“It has been an absolutely stunning chain of events that have occurred Saturday evening into early Sunday morning,” Stahl said. “In the weather reports, we had about three inches of rain, possibly more, fall on a specific targeted area of Ohio County and the City of Wheeling within a very short period of time.”
Stahl said the three main creeks– Little Wheeling, Middle Wheeling, and Big Wheeling had all significantly rose. He said there was also a massive debris spill that impacted their waterway system unlike anything he had ever seen there before.
He said the hardest hit areas seemed to occur outside of Wheeling city limits, however.
“It seems like the path of destruction was from the Elm Grove neighborhood of Wheeling, through the town of Triadelphia into the town of Valley Grove, which again those towns are outside of the City of Wheeling jurisdiction,” he said.
Morrisey has mobilized personnel and resources to address the emergency and begin the recovery process.
The Department of Natural Resources, the State Police, among other agencies are actively assisting local officials with search and rescue efforts. The National Guard has also been deployed to the area and the Division of Highways is working to clear roads and debris.
Stahl said all of their local EMS crews as well as those outside the county are also assisting.
He said they are trying their best to locate the missing individuals, but a number of possible circumstances could have occurred within the relatively short amount of time the flooding hit.
“I’m not saying that those individuals reported missing are deceased, but it’s possible their cell phone may have died, they may be with a friend somewhere, they have not been able to get a hold of somebody, so we’re trying to track down individuals who have been reported to us as possibly being missing, and there were also a lot of vehicles that were swept away,” Stahl said.
Stahl said there’s possibly between 15 to 20 vehicles currently stuck in Little and Big Wheeling Creeks alone.
Emergency services are requesting that the following areas are avoided at this time so search and rescue efforts can continue:
-US 40/ National Road (Triadelphia to Valley Grove) (Ohio County)
-WV 88/Bethany Pike (At Hamilton Ave) (City of Wheeling)
-GC&P Road (Wheeling & Ohio County)
-Middle Creek Road (Ohio County)
-Warden Run Road (City of Wheeling)
-Shilling Bridge (City of Wheeling)
-Junior Ave Bridge (City of Wheeling)
-Lumbar Ave (City of Wheeling)
-Monument Place Bridge (City of Wheeling)
-US 40 / National Road (Monument Place Bridge to Junior Ave Bridge) (City of Wheeling)
-Dixon Run Road (Ohio County)
-Short Creek Road (Ohio County)
-McGraw’s Run Road-Atkinson Crossing (Ohio County)
-Battle Run Road (Ohio County)
-Point Run Road (Ohio County)
A press release from the city states that impacted residents can put debris in front fo their homes for sanitation pickup.
If you need assistance or to report a missing person they ask you to call the Emergency Management Agency at 304-234-3756.
An emergency shelter is located at Elm Grove Elementary School: 85 Mil Acres Drive, Wheeling, WV 26003
The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department will be offering free tetanus shots starting at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Locations are at the Health Department : 1500 Chapline Street and at Riesbeck’s Parking Lot in Elm Grove. No appointment is needed. Proof of West Virginia ID is needed. The health department can be reached at 304-234-3682.
In addition, flood kits are on their way for further assistance to impacted residents. Distribution locations will be announced ASAP.