Floods kill 5 in West Virginia: Search teams use drones and dogs to find 3 missing
West Virginia Gov. Morrisey declared a state of emergency after flash floods killed 5 and left 3 missing.
Torrential rain pummeled parts of north-central West Virginia on Saturday night, igniting flash floods that prompted several casualties. Authorities say at least five people died, and three more are missing, as search and rescue crews use drones, search dogs, and swift water responders to search through wreckage.
"Up to four inches of rain fell in less than one hour," said a National Weather Service Meteorologist, "and when that much rainfall occurs, nearly all the creeks and roadways become overwhelmed." Emergency responders said it took them just about the right amount of time to reach the flooded areas, with a caveat that "it took us major delays to reach affected areas " due to collapsed roads, bridges, and entire vehicles being swept away, while many suffered power outages.
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Emergency crews continue search in worst-hit areas
The crews have been working around the clock since Saturday night, concentrating on river banks, submerged vehicles, and debris. Jim Blazier, Wheeling's fire chief, said first responders utilized drones and K9s to search for indications related to the missing individuals, focusing their search on the Ohio River and Wheeling Creek.
There have been over 165 emergency calls reported since the flooding began. The fire at the mobile home, washed out bridges, and extensive damage to roads has made rescues complicated. There are also 2,500 outages and the potential for more storms on the way, coupled with bad weather, has led to extensive work for recovery operations.
Federal response and state of emergency activated
On Sunday evening, Governor Patrick Morrisey declared the state of emergency in Marion and Ohio counties. The West Virginia National Guard was activated to aid emergency response efforts and assist local crews that were stretched thin.
Officials called the event rare and developing extremely quickly. "Rainfall accumulated in periods, three to four inches of narrow bands in under an hour," Morrisey remarked. "It's highly unusual and dangerous." Authorities said finding the missing remains the primary goal while damage estimates continue.
