At least 26 people have been killed in West Virginia in what amounts to the deadliest flash flooding in the United States since 2010. The death toll from the floods that have battered the state in recent days rose overnight Friday after the bodies of three more victims were found. West Virginia Gov. Early Ray Tomblin said he had requested help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in three particularly hard-hit counties where floods have devastated homes and infrastructure.
The flooding began after heavy rain hit portions of the state on Thursday and Friday. “The amount of rain that recently fell on parts of West Virginia and southern Virginia exceeded a once-in-a-century event for the specific area and resulted in catastrophic flooding in some communities,”AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Although the water was receding on Saturday, officials said that people still needed to be careful due to “flood debris, downed power lines, and downed trees.” More than 32,000 homes were still without power on Saturday morning.
Amid dramatic photos of the devastation, one video making the rounds on social media showing a burning home drifting down a creek pushed authorities to turn off natural gas service in some areas.
