Woman dies in Fayette floodwaters; Morrisey ‘closely monitoring’ storms

Flooding killed at least one person Sunday in Fayette County, where storms brought several inches of rain, officials said Monday.

The woman died after the vehicle she was driving was swept away in the Pax area, Fayette County Sheriff Jeff McMullen said in a news release posted on Facebook. 

According to the National Weather Service, more than 4 inches of rain fell at Yeager Airport in Charleston on Sunday, leading to reports of high water throughout Kanawha County, including Cross Lanes and Cabin Creek. Flooding was also reported in Fayette County, Braxton County and Nicholas County, said Simone Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston. 

Fayette County got 3 to 6 inches of rain in the past 48 hours, a representative of the Weather Service said Monday afternoon. 

Witnesses say the woman made a wrong turn into an area affected by rapidly rising water. As the vehicle was swept away by the current, a tree branch broke the vehicle’s glass. The woman tried to escape the vehicle but was carried away by the current. The sheriff’s drone unit located the woman Monday morning, the post said. 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with this woman’s family during this extremely difficult time. This is a tragic reminder of how quickly flood waters can become deadly,” McMullen said in the statement. “If you encounter water covering a roadway, do not attempt to drive through it. Turn around and find another route. The water may be deeper, faster and more dangerous than it appears.”

Gov. Patrick Morrisey says his office is “closely monitoring” the storm that brought hard rain and flash flooding to parts of West Virginia beginning Sunday evening. An emergency declaration from severe storms and flooding in July remains in effect throughout the state until Aug. 20, and will allow the state to respond to severe weather in affected communities, the governor said. Morrisey previously extended the state of emergency through Sept. 12 for 12 counties in the state. 

“Please stay off flooded roads, never attempt to drive through high water, and give our first responders the room they need to do their jobs safely,” Morrisey said on the social media platform X Sunday night. 

“We are praying for everyone in harm’s way and for the first responders working through the night to keep West Virginians safe,” he said.

Storms caused damage to both the Kanawha County and Fayette County animal shelters, according to posts from the two organizations on social media. 

The Fayette County Animal Shelter said the facility was without water, power and a way to access the facility after the storm knocked out a bridge. They added that the animals were safe and being cared for but called on nearby shelters and adopters to help. In a subsequent post, the shelter said community members had helped repair the bridge enough that shelter workers could walk across it temporarily until a permanent solution can be made. 

The Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association said in a post a tree fell on its clinic and a building that houses sick cats. Inches of water got into the shelter’s parvo ward and storage building, likely wiping out some supplies from its pet food bank. An update said that a lawn service company had removed a tree from its access bridge, cleared mud from its parking lot, hauled its dumpster out of the creek nearby and planned to remove a tree from the parking lot. 

“This is the worst storm damage I’ve seen in my 9 years here,” a representative of the shelter wrote Monday afternoon. “Still no power but we’re still caring for our shelter babies.”

The city of Charleston and the Kanawha County Commission are encouraging households and businesses who were affected by flooding to report damage via the West Virginia Emergency Management Division Weather Damage Survey. 

The city is also collecting flood cleanup supplies at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, located at 314 Donnally Street in Charleston. Current needs include: bottled water, five-gallon buckets, disinfectant cleaner, flathead shovels, fans and dehumidifiers, heavy-duty trash bags, work gloves and paper towels.

More storms and rain were in Monday afternoon’s forecast and could lead to more flooding, Lewis said. 

“We’re expecting more showers and storms to develop today, particularly this afternoon into the early evening,” Lewis said. “With the ground being as wet as it is, and a lot of the area creeks and streams running high, we do have the threat for flash flooding continuing through late tonight.”

After Monday, there will be a break in the rain this week with an occasional shower, she said. 

“People who are in flood-prone locations (shouldn’t) let their guard down,” Lewis said. “Monday is another day to kind of keep an eye out for the potential of flooding.”