More than 100 homes were damaged and at least 40 people were missing Wednesday after powerful storms slammed into southwestern Virginia and brought severe flooding and mudslides, local officials said.
More than 4.5 inches of rain fell in Buchanan County, which borders Kentucky and West Virginia in southwest Virginia, on Tuesday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The area is located in the interior of the Appalachian Mountains and the mountain ridges act as a rain funnel as the river rises rapidly and overflows onto the roads. Homes were swept off their foundations and people were forced to wade through waist-deep water to reach safety.
No deaths or injuries were reported, authorities said. The number of people considered unknown – 44 children and adults as of Wednesday evening – was derived from the number of people whose relatives or family have not been able to contact or be contacted.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in trouble or danger, we just have to go check on them,” Deputy Chief Eric Breeding of the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued a state of emergency Wednesday and nearly 20 search and rescue organizations were assisting Buchanan County, which is home to fewer than 20,000 people, according to census data.
“Deeply saddened by the devastating news of the flooding in Buchanan County,” Mr. Youngkin wrote on Twitter. “We are providing every resource to help those affected.”
Billy Crimes, a search and rescue specialist with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said the effects of the flooding caused delays in checking on people and rescuing them.
“A lot of roads are blocked by landslides, bridges, the approaches to those bridges are washed away,” Mr. Crimes said at the news conference. “It will take time to restore that access, reach out to everyone and make sure their basic needs are taken care of.”
JR Miller, 39, said he was talking via FaceTime with his aunt and grandfather, who live in Pilgrim’s Knob, when the rain picked up.
He watched as his 79-year-old grandfather tried to get his favorite power tools to higher ground so they wouldn’t get damaged. Mr. Miller said his family members watched as Dismal Creek across the street rose and eventually flooded the road by at least three feet.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my almost 40 years,” Mr. Miller recalled of what he saw on FaceTime.
Mr. Miller, who now lives in China Grove, North Carolina, said the two relatives began stuffing valuables into bags to try to salvage what they could as they realized they had to get to higher ground. They crossed the street in waist-deep water to help a neighbor before heading to the post office, which was visible from the home.
Once they got to safety, Mr. Miller said, his family was able to send a message letting them know they had made it. They also shared with him that several houses had been blown off their foundations and trucks had been catapulted more than 500 feet down the road by strong currents.
The home where his grandfather lived for more than 20 years was most likely destroyed, Mr. Miller said. Relatives said there was more than six feet of water in the house and the refrigerator was thrown on its side on the ground.
Mr Miller said his grandfather and aunt – and most people in the area – were without mobile phones. The area has poor service to begin with, he said, and relies heavily on Wi-Fi.
“It’s a really close-knit community,” Mr Miller said. “Basically, everyone lives there their whole lives. It’s an area that has taken a very hard hit.”
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