National Guard Deployed as Flash Floods Swamp West Virginia Homes

All of West Virginia is under a state of emergency after up to 7 inches of rain fell on the state on Tuesday. Read on for the details of the massive rain event and the recovery effort now underway.

West Virginia Recovering From Devastating Flooding Event

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties of the state on Tuesday night. The governor initially deployed about 300 National Guard members on Tuesday and Wednesday in an effort to assist with the flooding rescue and recovery effort, and by Wednesday that number had grown to more than 500 troops, according to West Virginia Adjutant General Jim Seward.

Morrisey said Wednesday that no civilians remained unaccounted for and no fatalities had been confirmed from the flooding.

The heavy rain triggered flash flooding in several areas of West Virginia, washing out bridges and roads and leaving motorists stranded. Emergency crews responded to dozens of 911 calls as vehicles, homes, and businesses were quickly inundated with flooding rainfall. While the flash flood warnings in West Virginia expired on Wednesday, more warnings were issued for neighboring Virginia.

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Charleston escalated its alert to a Flash Flood Emergency — the highest level of flash flood alert — and designated it a "Particularly Dangerous Situation," a rare classification reserved for the most extreme, life-threatening events, urging residents to "SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!"

Video and photos posted to social media painted a picture of the devastation. A Walmart in the community of Weston was besieged by muddy water creeping into the store.

A series of storms moved through the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic on Tuesday, expanding from Cincinnati to the east into New York City. In addition to the heavy rain, the strong storms also generated confirmed tornadoes. The area in West Virginia between St. Marys and Belmont was one of the regions hit by at least two confirmed tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service office in Charleston, which tracked storm damage from Washington County into Pleasants County.

West Virginia's Lewis and Upshur counties bore the brunt of the damage from the storm system. The rural part of the region has about 40,000 residents spread over the two counties.

Lewis County Commissioner Agnes Quinn Queen said that first responders were busy performing water rescues through the night Tuesday and into Wednesday. Queen warned that "the devastation across our county is extensive."

Morrisey told residents to remain home on Tuesday night, warning that travel conditions were dangerous. The rising floodwaters forced the closure of some stretches of Interstate 79 and U.S. Route 48. Tuesday's storms came on the heels of over 2 inches of rain over the weekend, making the saturated ground more vulnerable to flooding.

Data from a U.S. Geological Survey stream gauge showed one tributary, Sand Run near Buckhannon, cresting at a record level — surpassing the mark set during the deadly November 1985 flood.

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