More than 40 people are missing and more than 100 homes have been damaged or destroyed after devastating floods tore through West Virginia on Wednesday, officials said.
Torrential rain that began Tuesday and continued into early Wednesday morning caused flash flooding in Buchanan County, as well as widespread power outages and damage to roads and other infrastructure, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management said.
The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that 44 people, including children, in the Whitewood area were “missing” after their loved ones were unable to immediately contact them.
“That doesn’t mean the person is missing, it means we’re trying to reach out and find the person and check on their welfare,” the sheriff’s office said.
There are no confirmed deaths.
More than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed during the flooding, department officials estimated.
Flooding in West Virginia leaves 44 people, including children, ‘unaccounted for’. Olivia Bailey/WCYB via AP
Officials said access to the remote area as a result of the destruction has hampered search and rescue efforts as many roads have been blocked by landslides and approaches to bridges have been swept away.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency in response to the flooding.
“We are deeply saddened to learn that another flood has affected a community that is still recovering from last year’s flood,” Youngkin said in a statement. “In the wake of the devastation, I want Virginians in Buchanan County to know that we are making every resource available to help those affected by this storm.”
More than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed during the flooding, department officials estimated. Olivia Bailey/WCYB via AP
Last year, one person died after severe flooding caused by the remnants of a hurricane that washed away houses. That flood was less severe but covered a much larger area, officials told reporters at a news conference.
In eastern Tennessee, severe thunderstorms prompted the evacuation of more than 400 people from a campground on the Little Pigeon River. No injuries were reported in the flooding in Tennessee, but vehicles and debris from the Greenbrier Campground were swept downstream by floodwaters, Sevier County Assistant Mayor Perrin Anderson told news outlets.
With postal wires
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