West Virginia Deploys National Guard Amid Flash Floods and Search Operations

About 500 national guard members have been deployed across West Virginia after torrential rain caused flash floods in parts of the state this week, and as emergency crews continue search and rescue operations.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, West Virginia’s governor, Patrick Morrisey, said that the state remained in a “phase of search and rescue” with teams working to “identify any individual who we might be able to save”.

“We concerned about loss of life,” Morrisey said. “We’re not here to make any specific announcements pertaining to that, but we are concerned about that and that’s why all of our efforts remain focused on examining different streets and areas and situations so we can report things to the public.”

Later in the briefing, Morrisey said that officials did not currently have an “exact number” of people who are unaccounted for, but said that they were “concerned about fatalities”.

On Tuesday, Morrisey declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties across West Virginia and issued a “state of preparedness” as severe weather approached, directing state agencies to stand ready to respond. Initially, about 100 national guard members were deployed to the hardest-hit areas but then on Wednesday another 400 national guard members were mobilized to support ongoing flood-response operations.

The governor’s office said on Tuesday that “a series of storm systems” had “moved across the state” and produced “severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, torrential rainfall, mudslides and rapidly rising water in many communities”.

The most significant impacts, the office said, were reported in Lewis, Pleasants and Upshur counties, where flooding and related damage had prompted emergency response efforts.

Images and videos shared online show vehicles submerged in parking lots, flooded homes and neighborhood streets transformed into waterways.

During the news conference on Wednesday, Morrisey described the storms as “quite extraordinary” and noted that “we had a significant amount of rainfall occur within a very short period of time”.

In Upshur county, he said, about 4.5in of rain fell in just 37 minutes. “When things like that happen, there’s no place for the water to go,” he said. “And so that’s one of the reasons why you see here in Upshur county that there’s still a fair amount of water covering parts of the city.”

The governor also said his office was aware that “there are still many people who are without power here in the mountain state” and said that “utility crews are working very very hard to get to all these places”.

As of Thursday morning, there were more than 6,000 residents in West Virginia without power, according to Poweroutage.us.

During the news conference, Morrisey said what “we’re hearing is that the main line of the severe weather has moved through”, but he warned that “the ground is still saturated and the rivers remain high, so, we’re going to continue to consult with the National Weather Service and monitor all the conditions around the clock.

“This is a time for West Virginians to come together to do everything possible, not only to pray for all those who are affected, but we’re going to need a lot of help in the days and weeks ahead,” Morrisey said. “Let’s help these communities rebuild.”

On Wednesday evening, the West Virginia department of transportation said crews were out in “full force” working to “clear debris, remove downed trees and safely reopen roads”.