Latest news with #NorthernPanhandle
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fairmont State hosts housing fair for those displaced by Sunday's flooding
Jun. 19—FAIRMONT — Bella, a demure border collie mix, is a proper lady. The polite pup always lets people know when she needs to go outside. That's why Teresa Snyder was surprised when she saw the water on the floor. "Bella, that's not like you, girl, " Snyder remembered saying. Then she saw the actual source—water was coming in under her door. When she looked in the hallway, she saw it pouring down the walls, which she was trying to process, just as her ceiling began giving way at the same time. "We had to get out of there, " said Snyder, who lived on the ground floor of Fairmont Village Apartments. "The whole place was coming down all around us." Water on the flat roof of the apartment was pooling so fast — it rained about three inches in 30 minutes — that the resulting pressure from the build-up caused a back wall to blow out. The sloped parking lot wasn't much better. Call it a fish bowl laced with white-water rapids, said Snyder's friend, Van Clark. "I know it was at five feet, " Clark said. "Yeah, and I don't swim, " Snyder added with a shiver. Clark made sure an agitated Bella was secure on her leash as he hoisted Snyder to a window. She suffered bruises and cuts to her feet that required a tetanus shot for good measure. "Well, we were lucky and we know it was worse for a lot of other people, " she said. "I feel bad for them. It's a tragedy." Snyder was referring to Ohio County in the Northern Panhandle, which was hit harder than Fairmont and Marion County. The storm that raged Saturday night to the north unspooled in north-central West Virginia the next day. To date, eight people have died in the Ohio County floods. Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency for both counties earlier this week, saying disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on its way. Hopefully, the governor said. Which was why, in part, that Snyder, Clark and Bella, too, were waiting at the Fairmont State University Falcon Center student union on Thursday afternoon. The university was hosting a housing fair for displaced Fairmont Village residents. Representatives of the state Housing Development Fund and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were there, along with the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. Tygart Valley United Way had a table and a computer terminal, as did the American Red Cross and the Marion County Emergency Operations Center. The idea, said Brian Selmeski, Fairmont State's chief of staff, is to get people back under a permanent roof, while launching the paperwork so that can eventually happen. A Fairmont State social worker was also there to help those residents who were roiled emotionally by the deluge. In the hours after Sunday's storm, the university opened part of the Falcon Center for emergency lodging. That shelter will remain open for as long as needed, Selmeski said. "We're here for our community, " the chief of staff said. "This is what we're supposed to be doing." As people were still queuing up, more heavy rain could be witnessed on the other side of the large glass windows of the complex Thursday. Rain lashed and trees were bent by the brief storm that blew through campus. "Yeah, I hope that doesn't get too interesting, " one man said.
CBS News
a day ago
- Climate
- CBS News
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.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Independent
'Mother Nature at it's worst:' Death toll from flash floods climbs to 6 in West Virginia
The death toll from weekend flooding in West Virginia rose to six as residents tried to clean up with the threat of more rain on the way. At least two people remained missing in the state's northern panhandle after torrential downpours tore through the region Saturday night, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday. As much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within 40 minutes. Among the six dead was a 3-year-old child, the governor said. About an hour to the southeast, heavy rains battered the Marion County community of Fairmont on Sunday, ripping off the outer wall of an apartment building and damaging bridges and roads. No injuries were reported. Morrisey has declared a state of emergency in both counties. He said at least 60 homes, 25 businesses and an estimated 30 roads were impacted by the floods. "It's just Mother Nature at its worst," Morrisey said. In the northern panhandle, vehicles were swept into swollen creeks, some people sought safety in trees and a mobile home caught fire. Morrisey toured the small community of Triadelphia on Sunday. 'That was just pure devastation,' he said. 'That was brutal.' Rich Templin, his wife, Michelle, and a family friend, Chuck Ullom, were cleaning out two storage garages Monday across the street from their Triadelphia home. The garages on lower ground along Little Wheeling Creek were nearly destroyed by flash floods. Templin's home is on elevated ground and was not damaged. Templin was at work when his wife called him. When he did not answer, she texted him to say their street was flooded, a trailer they owned had washed away and that 'cars were floating by with people in them.' Templin said he received the text messages within 15 minutes after it started to rain. 'I've talked to numerous people, they said it was like a tsunami. They saw water coming down the road like two or three feet high,' he said. Templin used the garages to store tools used in a trucking service company formerly operated by his father. 'We're trying to see what's salvageable and what's not and just start the rebuilding process,' he said. Most of West Virginia was under a flood watch through Monday night. The region around Wheeling, about an hour southwest of Pittsburgh, has seen its share of flooding. Saturday's floods occurred 35 years to the day after more than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain in less than three hours killed 26 people and destroyed 80 homes in nearby Shadyside, Ohio. Last year, severe storms washed out about 200 tombstones at a Wheeling cemetery. There were deadly floods in the region in 2017 and 2022. And in 2004, the remnants of Hurricane Ivan sent floodwaters to the tops of lamp posts and trees in Wheeling's park and amphitheater along the Ohio River. ___
