US: Emergency Declared As Flooding Damages Dozens Of Homes In West Virginia

 

The Governor of the US state of West Virginia declared a state of emergency Thursday for McDowell County due to flooding.

The move came after flooding from heavy rains on Tuesday damaged more than 75 homes, 12 bridges and multiple roads throughout the county, Jim Justice said in a statement.

The storm also downed trees and power lines and disrupted water systems.

State and local officials have responded and are working to begin the cleanup process, provide necessary repairs, and aid residents in need of assistance, the statement said.

The state of emergency will remain in effect for 30 days.

Video from Charleston, West Virginia TV station WCHS shows damaged homes and bridges and roads torn up by the flooding.

Local resident Mary Hicks told a WCHS reporter that when floodwaters entered her home, firefighters came and brought her wheelchair-bound husband to safety.

"The fire department. Thank God for the fire department.They came and got my husband out. We couldn't get out the front door. And there's no way, I couldn't get him out the back door by myself. So the fire department came and got him out of the house for me," she said.

McDowell County is in southern West Virginia, close to Buchanan County, Virginia, where flooding damaged numerous homes and left more than 40 people unaccounted for on Tuesday.

Authorities were able to locate all of those people by Thursday and confirm they all survived.