One dead, several missing after ‘devastating’ floods hit WV’s southern coalfields over the weekend

At least one person is dead following severe flooding in West Virginia’s southern coalfields over the weekend.

In a news briefing Monday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said officials were working to contact the family of the deceased before sharing any information on their identity or the circumstances of the fatality with the public.

Rainfall started in the southern part of the state early Saturday and culminated over hours. Leading into Sunday, there were multiple instances of flash flooding and high water in many of the region’s waterways. The damage from the storms is unlike any seen in the coalfields region in the last 20 years, local officials said.

“The Tug Fork River and the Bluestone River and some of their tributaries, they’ve been swollen, and they’ve experienced major flooding levels, which is something we haven’t seen before in a very long time,” Morrisey said on Monday. “That means that there’s damage to significant numbers of structures and roads and significant evacuations [of] people to higher elevations.”

Morrisey on Saturday evening declared a State of Emergency in Boone, Lincoln and Wayne counties. On Sunday evening, that state of emergency was expanded to include Cabell, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Logan, Mercer, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming Counties.

The emergency declaration will allow responding agencies access to more resources as they work to assess and clear debris, support residents and respond to the potential threat of more incoming flooding. It also allows the state to mobilize the National Guard to help with response efforts, which several counties have already done, according to information shared by local leaders.

On Monday evening — after spending the afternoon surveying damage across the region — Morrisey announced that he would be issuing a formal request to President Donald Trump for a Major Disaster Declaration in West Virginia. 

“This will help unlock federal resources to support West Virginians hardest hit by the major flooding events of the past few days,” Morrisey said in a statement.

Specifically, Morrisey said he would be seeking activation from the Individual Assistance Program, which provides direct service to those impacted by disasters; the Public Assistance Program, which provides funds for communities to recover from a disaster and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which helps communities create plans and recovery strategies from disasters that make future, similar circumstances less likely to occur. 

All those programs and funds are managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which Trump has said he wants to dismantle and instead give emergency response authority strictly to state governments.

Trump on Sunday, however, did approve a request for an emergency declaration in Kentucky, where the same storm that hit Southern West Virginia washed out communities in the eastern part of the commonwealth.

FEMA released a statement Monday saying the agency was “closely coordinating” with leadership in affected states, including West Virginia and Kentucky. Staff for the federal agency were deployed to West Virginia where they are assisting in monitoring the situation and coordinating any requests that are submitted for additional federal assistance.

During a news briefing Monday afternoon, Morrisey said the “hardest hit” areas from the storm appeared to be McDowell, Mingo and Mercer counties.

Responding agencies — which include those from counties and municipalities near the damaged sites — performed at least 38 swift water rescues. They worked throughout Sunday and Monday to track down and make contact with multiple residents who were believed to be missing throughout the storms.

In addition to the flooding, the storm knocked out power for thousands of residents. As of 11 a.m., Morrisey said electricity was still out for approximately 30,000 people in the southern half of the state. This is especially concerning, the governor said, because of expected low temperatures that could result in freezing conditions.

Emergency shelters have been set up and are operating in multiple locations for those who have been evacuated, displaced or affected by the consequences of flooding. This includes Mount View High School, Houston United Methodist Church and the Reclamation Church in McDowell County and the Mingo Field House in Mingo County.

“We already know that over 50,000 water bottles have been deployed to the affected areas,” Morrisey said. “We’re also coordinating with the Red Cross, other local charities, to make sure that all the appropriate resources can be brought to bear and leverage to help people that are most in need.”

In Logan County, food and resource distributions were taking place Monday in The Dream Center, in Holden, according to social media posts from the county’s Office of Emergency Management. Residents in any county should check with the Red Cross or contact their local emergency management offices for specific guidance on where to go for help and shelter if they need it.

At the Legislature Monday, lawmakers from the coalfields were busy trying to organize a collection of supplies and resources for those in need in their home counties.

Del. Jordan Bridges, R-Logan, said two box trailers were set up behind the Capitol building to collect supplies that will be donated to all areas affected by the devastating flooding. 

And during Monday’s Senate floor session, Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, called the floods “devastating” and “unreal.” He asked those in the chamber to observe a moment of silence for people in distress and asked for the donation of cleaning supplies and bottled water for affected residents.

“Any efforts [are] deeply, deeply appreciated,” Phillips said.