Three year old and four others killed after flash flooding in West Virginia
Five people, including a three-year-old child, have died and three others are missing after severe flash flooding hit West Virginia.
Around 2.5 to 4 inches of rain fell in half an hour on Saturday night in the city of Wheeling, which is around 200 miles north east of the capital city of Charleston, while people climbed trees to escape.
Officials have said that one of the victims is a three-year old child but no further details have been given about the others, according to the New York Times.
A block of flats in West Virginia partially collapsed and residents were evacuated after the severe flooding, CBS News said.
Lou Vargo, Ohio County’s emergency management director, said during a news conference yesterday: ‘We almost immediately started getting 911 calls for rescue of people being trapped.
‘During this time, we had major infrastructure damage to roads, bridges, and highways where we couldn’t respond to a lot of incidents. So we were delayed in getting there because there was just so much damage.
‘It happened so quickly and so fast… I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I’ve seen major floods here in the city and the county. I’ve never seen anything like this.’
A resident in Fairmont, whose pet dog was killed in the flooding, posted on GoFundMe: ‘In a matter of hours, [my mom] lost her pet, Darla, clothes, furniture, personal belongings, and even her vehicle. The place she called home is now unrecognisable.’
A state of emergency was declared in Marion County on Sunday evening by Governor Patrick Morrisey.
He said in a press conference: ‘In many respects, this is kind of a unicorn event, because a lot of the rain had very narrow areas and there were roughly 3 to 4 inches of water that fell in the area in less than an hour.
‘That’s very, very difficult to deal with.
‘Your friends, your neighbors, your first responders and people in the community, they’re out working very hard to find people. That’s our No. 1 task right now, trying to identify anyone who may still be out there.
‘Please – stay off the roads. Do not underestimate the strength and speed of these floods. Pray for our friends and neighbors during this challenging time for our state.’
A state of emergency has also been declared in Ohio County and the National Guard were also mobilised.
The flooding in the county has caused extensive damage to homes, roads and bridges, south of Wheeling, on Sunday afternoon, while rescue operations were carried out.
The county has reported 2,500 power outages, Governor Morrisey confirmed.
Jim Blazier, the fire chief in Wheeling, said: ‘We’re searching the banks, we’re searching submerged vehicles, any debris we find along the trail and so forth.
‘We’re using drones, search dogs and swift water personnel, and we have teams organized that are searching sectors that we’re trying to recover anybody that’s missing.’
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