As flash floods in West Virginia kill at least 8, Gov. Morrisey aims to rally residents during clean-up
It's been a challenging and heartbreaking few days for West Virginians since deadly flooding devastated many communities.
The death toll continues to rise, search and rescue operations are still underway, and clean-up efforts are far from over.
"I do have some somber news to report. We now can clearly state that eight people are confirmed dead in Ohio County," said Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
The grim update from Gov. Morrisey came several days after flash flooding destroyed homes and washed away roads in the Wheeling-Ohio County area.
A man was found dead Wednesday morning in the Ohio River, bringing the death toll to eight.
"We can't take that back, but we can honor their memory by coming together and doing everything we can to help the remaining people that might be out there, and help rebuild in Ohio County," Morrisey said.
Crews didn't know the man who was found Wednesday was missing. They found him while looking for a woman who's still missing.
"We have at least one unaccounted for, but we don't know whether there will be others. We're going to continue to look. That's the top priority right now," the governor said.
"We retrieved a person this morning, and we all knew that even though we had eight, there might be people who were never witnessed and were in the water," said Lou Vargo, the Ohio County Emergency Management Agency Director.
As much as four inches of rain fell in the northern panhandle within just 40 minutes Saturday night. Marion County was also hit hard by flooding.
Governor Morrisey said everyone there is alive and accounted for.
He said he's been in touch with the White House for assistance and will send damage surveys to FEMA once they're all submitted by flood victims.
He and Vargo urged residents impacted by the floods to submit those surveys.
"I know President Trump cares deeply about West Virginia, he really does, and so I'm going to make my best argument to him as to why Ohio County and West Virginia, and Marion County, all these areas deserve the help to get our citizens back on the right track," Morrisey said.
Despite the tragedy and the long road ahead, West Virginians are strong, and they'll rebuild together.
"One thing that's true about West Virginians: We're never, never going to give up," Gov. Morrisey said. "We're going to come back from this stronger than ever, and we're going to work together."
"Volunteers are stepping up in a way that we haven't seen before. Everyone is reaching out to help their brothers and sisters in need. The coordination on the ground has been excellent," he added.
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