At least 24 dead in West Virginia floods; PGA tournament canceled
Heavy rains that pummeled West Virginia left at least 24 people dead, and authorities said Saturday that an unknown number of people in the hardest-hit county remained unaccounted for.
Most of the dead and all of the missing, officials believe, were in the county of Greenbrier — home of the renowned golf resort of the same name.
“The reports we got this morning are that Greenbrier County may still have some folks unaccounted for. It does not appear there are unaccounted-for people in other counties, but it’s still a somewhat fluid situation,” said Chris Stadelman, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s chief of staff.
Stadelman said that there were still “lots of folks in shelters” and that the state would apply for federal disaster funds. Scores of homes were damaged.
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Also Saturday, Tomblin asked federal authorities for a major disaster declaration to get help for Greenbrier and the two other counties hardest hit by flooding. Tomblin’s office said he made an expedited verbal request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for individual assistance for Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties. Individual assistance includes housing and crisis counseling.
In one bizarre twist, a woman sustained burns over two-thirds of her body after her deluged house blew up. Belinda Scott of White Sulphur Springs called her husband, Ronnie, and told him their house was filling up with water. She fled to the attic and waited. She smelled natural gas. Then, the house exploded.
Belinda Scott was able to break a vent and get out onto a porch, then make it onto a tree, which she clung to for hours before being rescued by state police, her husband told the Associated Press.
My wife was out there four and a half hours hanging in a tree with a house burning right beside her, floodwaters running all around her.
— Ronnie Scott of White Sulphur Springs
“My wife was out there four and a half hours hanging in a tree with a house burning right beside her, floodwaters running all around her,” said Scott.
About 500 people were stranded overnight in a shopping center when a bridge washed out, and dozens of others had to be plucked off rooftops or rescued from their cars.
Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill described “complete chaos” in his county.
“Roads destroyed, bridges out, homes burned down, washed off foundations,” he said. “Multiple sections of highway just missing. Pavement just peeled off like a banana. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
The state Division of Homeland Security reported 15 people killed in Greenbrier County and rescue efforts continuing. Other deaths were reported in Kanawha, Jackson and Ohio counties.
Currently, 200 National Guardsmen were assisting in eight counties, helping local crews with swift-water rescues, search and extraction efforts and health and welfare checks. The governor declared a state of emergency in 44 of 54 counties and authorized up to 500 soldiers to assist.
The governor said he had planned to fly around the hardest-hit areas, but he wasn’t able to because all state aircraft were being used for rescues.
Eric Blackshire was one of the stranded at Crossings Mall, a mix of restaurants, stores and a hotel in Elkview, which is about 15 miles northeast of Charleston. Some had to sleep in their cars or at businesses overnight. Blackshire opted for a hotel room.
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“It was kind of like a hurricane party. I guess you could call it a flood party. There were lots of beers being drank last night,” he told the Associated Press.
He was able to get to safety Friday when Pinch Volunteer Fire Department firefighters used a rope to guide people down a hillside. Crews were working to build a gravel road on the backside of the shopping plaza.
An area near the West Virginia-Virginia border received at least 9 inches of rain, while other parts of the state had 3 to 5 inches, National Weather Service hydrologist John Sikora said. While most of the rain had tapered off Friday, there still were scattered showers, thunderstorms and river flood warnings.
Some of the heaviest rainfall was in Greenbrier County, where the Greenbrier luxury resort and golf course is nestled in the mountains. The PGA Tour has canceled a July 4-10 tournament there because the course is overrun by floodwaters.
“Cancelling The Greenbrier Classic is certainly the most prudent course of action as our foremost concern is the well-being of those who are having to live through this tragic situation,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a news release Saturday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Resort owner Jim Justice said the needs of flood-ravaged West Virginians are of utmost concern. Two healthcare facilities at the resort will be open this weekend to provide care for residents.
“All of our focus needs to be on helping all of the people of our great state,” Justice said in a news release. “So many have lost loved ones, their homes, and have no place to go.”
Rainelle Mayor Andrea “Andy” Pendleton wept as she surveyed the devastated Greenbrier County town Saturday morning.
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“I weep for my people. I weep for the businesses,” she said.
About six buses full of people whose homes were either without power or too damaged to inhabit were evacuated. Some were taken initially to a fire department facility, but then it flooded, so they were moved to an abandoned store. When that started to flood, buses took the evacuees to a church 40 miles away.
Search and rescue teams went house to house, marking those checked with a spray-painted ‘X.’ Abandoned pets were taken to a shelter. A water department filtration system, built with a $2.6 million loan, was damaged, Pendleton said.
Help came from multiple sources, including two search and rescue teams from Virginia.
A flood warning remained in effect for Greenbrier County until 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
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UPDATES:
6:49 p.m.: This article was updated to report the death toll had risen to 24 from 23.
1:55 p.m.: This article was updated with the cancellation of the PGA Tour and additional details.
12:01 p.m.: This article was updated with a PGA statement, the governor asking for emergency federal help and additional details.
This article was originally published at 8:47 a.m.
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