Flash Flooding in West Virginia Prompts Dozens of Rescues

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Between three and six inches of rain fell in the Upper Kanawha Valley area, near Charleston, with radar picking up more than eight inches in some areas. Dozens of homes were badly damaged.

By Remy Tumin

Heavy rain and flash floods tore through parts of West Virginia on Monday morning, prompting emergency water rescues and evacuations, as residents were instructed to seek higher ground, the authorities said.

Over five hours, the National Weather Service recorded between three and six inches of rainfall in the Upper Kanawha Valley area near the capital, Charleston, with radar picking up more than eight inches of rain in some areas.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries on Monday.

A flood warning remains in effect through Monday evening, with the possibility of another inch of rain and localized water issues overnight.

Local forecasters said that the region would most likely see a similar weather pattern on Tuesday, particularly in the afternoon and evening hours, with chances for showers and thunderstorms. Isolated areas may see one to two or more inches of rain on Tuesday, Gabe Wawren, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Charleston, said.

The heavy showers and thunderstorms have been extremely slow moving, Mr. Wawren said, posing a threat of localized flash flooding into Tuesday evening. A cold front is expected to move through on Wednesday with a forecast for dry weather into the weekend.

“This came from nowhere. We had almost no warning whatsoever, which is very unusual,” Kent Carper, president of the Kanawha County Commission, said. He said the county had only 30 minutes to prepare and warn residents, adding that one area received more than nine inches of rain in less than an hour.

“It’s just unheard-of,” he said.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning around 7 a.m. with the possibility of life-threatening damage, prompting an evacuation order for parts of the county.

“Turn around, don’t drown,” the county warned drivers on social media, as mudslides closed lanes of U.S. Route 60 in Cedar Grove and on the West Virginia Turnpike near Chelyan, which is south of Chesapeake.

Mr. Carper estimated that “dozens and dozens and dozens” of residents had been rescued, including people trapped in cars and even emergency responders, and that over the course of the morning the emergency communications center received more than 700 calls. A dog that was stranded on top of its doghouse was also rescued.

“That’s a new one for me, and I’ve seen a lot,” Mr. Carper said.

An estimated 100 or more homes were significantly damaged, and a local fire station experienced significant water damage, he added.

The governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, declared a state of emergency in Kanawha, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay and Roane Counties. The rain arrived just a year after floods pummeled the same valley, and Mr. Carper said that cleanup was still ongoing from that weather event.

James Zvolensky, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Charleston, said some spots where flooding occurred received about one to two inches of rain over the weekend.

“They’re pretty much primed for some trouble, especially when you get rain rates as high as we did this morning,” he said.

Monday’s rain began around 5 a.m. Heavy showers moved extremely slowly and continued to develop. While the rain had largely stopped, runoff continued to be a threat, and more rain was expected over the next 24 hours.

As the rain let up, emergency responders stopped at every house and car to make sure no one was inside, leaving a chalk mark behind to deem it clear.

“There’s no such thing as nuisance flooding,” Mr. Carper said. “It’s not a nuisance when you lose your heat pump, air-conditioning or your furniture. That’s not a nuisance. That’s devastating to most people.”

Once the water recedes, county officials will survey the damage and consider applying for federal assistance, something they were denied after last year’s flooding.

Mr. Carper said Kanawha County spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on cleanup and was never reimbursed, including fixing baseball fields so that young people could play.

“The federal government just turned their back on us,” he said.

Lauren McCarthy contributed reporting.

Remy Tumin is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news and other topics. More about Remy Tumin