TRIADELPHIA, W.Va. — Life has been slow-moving for the people in Ohio County following the devastating Father’s Day flood back in June.
Residents in Triadelphia as well as the greater Wheeling areas are still dealing with the aftermath of the severe flash flood that killed at least 8 people and destroyed a number of homes.
One Triadelphia resident, Sarah Hall came on MetroNews Midday recently. She said it has been a daily struggle ever since.
Hall is part of families out of six homes in that area who still don’t have a bridge after it was destroyed in the flood waters. She said they use a zipline to get supplies in.
“We have to watch, we have to walk across the creek if there’s anything serious that we need,” Hall said.
Hall said it was unbelievable when it first happened, because from where she was at, it was only sprinkling and then the sun came back out. She said she had to be told by someone else before she began to realize the magnitude of the situation.
“Out of nowhere, my friends up the creek from us call and say, hey, it’s flooding here,” Hall said. “She lives just right in Valley Grove and I couldn’t understand, and I go down to check our creek and it’s still below our bridge, but it’s moving and it’s fast, it’s moving lots of debris.”
Hall said then, within 15 minutes, water was over their bridge and the bridge was swept away. She said it looked like a river.
The families are currently working to raise money to get their bridge replaced and hoping to get assistance from FEMA soon.
Hall said life has been rough since the Father’s Day flashing flooding.
“It has been tremendously difficult on everybody in our community, I mean, my father lives down on Route 40 and he lost everything and had a stroke right after,” she said.
She said one of her friends in the community is expecting to deliver her baby in a week and she’s a high-risk pregnancy.
Hall said one of the most difficult things to come from this has been the witnessing of local businesses fall apart.
“Families who have worked for generations to get where they are now, who willingly give back to our community be completely destroyed and have to fight with insurance companies and local delegates just to try and rebuild,” she said.
Hall said this has changed their lives for generations to come.