Damage is widespread and devastating, while the death toll could rise, Tomblin told reporters, putting search and rescue missions still a top priority.
A state of emergency has already been declared in 44 of the state's 55 counties, according to an ABC News report.
Rescue efforts are still underway to save some 500 people, including employees and customers, who have been stranded inside a mall since Thursday afternoon after a bridge connecting the shopping center to a main road collapsed and washed away, said the report.
As much as 8 to 10 inches of rain fell in six to eight hours in parts of West Virginia, said the National Weather Service, calling the amount of rain in such a short time likely a "one-in-a-thousand-year event".
[Xinhua -globaltimes.cn]
25/6/16
At least 20 people, including an eight-year-old boy and a toddler, have died in flooding in West Virginia, according to state officials...
ReplyDeleteHeavy storms and flooding have caused widespread damage throughout the state, said Governor Earl Ray Tomblin.
A state of emergency was declared in 44 of the state's 55 counties.
Rescue efforts were under way for about 500 people trapped in a shopping centre while officials continued to search for others stranded in devastated areas.
The flooding has destroyed more than 100 homes and knocked out power for thousands after a storm system dumped nine inches of rain on parts of the state....BBC
25/6/16
The governor of West Virginia has declared states of emergency in 44 counties after the worst flooding in the mid-Atlantic U.S. state in 100 years killed 23 people.
ReplyDelete"The damage is widespread and devastating," Earl Ray Tomblin said Friday. "Our focus remains on search and rescue."
As much as 25 centimeters of rain fell Thursday, sending numerous rivers in the southwestern and central parts of the state over their banks and into the streets of nearby towns.
The sheriff of one county said he is surrounded by "complete chaos."
"Roads destroyed, bridges out, homes burned down, washed off foundations, multiple sections of highway just missing, pavement just peeled off like a banana," Greenbriar County Sheriff Jan Cahill said.....voanews.com