Multiple fatalities reported in West Virginia flooding as frantic search on for child swept away in

[riversedge]

Source: foxnews




Floods
Multiple fatalities reported in West Virginia flooding as frantic search on for child swept away in floodwaters


Published June 24, 2016 FoxNews.com


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Burning house uprooted by West Virginia floodwaters

A West Virginia official says multiple fatalities have been reported in flooding that has devastated parts of the state as the desperate search for a 4-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters was expected to resume Friday.



Rescue crews said the boy jumped into the water outside his home in Ravenswood. According to WCHS-TV, his grandfather tried to get into the water to save him but the current was too strong. The grandfather was able to get out of the water.

The initial search Thursday lasted about five hours. Members of the search and rescue crews spotted by the boy twice but the water was moving too quickly and couldn’t reach him.

At least two fatalities have been reported after storms rolled into West Virginia early Thursday and continued throughout the day leaving thousands without power and several roads impassable.

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Officials confirmed than an 8-year-old boy who had been swept away by the storm was killed. According to WTOV-TV, the boy was found unresponsive in a creek near Wheeling......................

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/24/multiple-fatalities-reported-in-west-virginia-flooding-as-frantic-search-on-for-child-swept-away-in-floodwaters.html

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Eyewitness News Verified account
?@wchs8fox11

Check out this shocking video out of White Sulphur Springs. A burning house swept away by floodwater #EyewitnessWV

https://twitter.com/wchs8fox11/status/746134489286447104

[Botany]

1. with the steep hills and multiple streams and creeks thunderstorms can ...

... become floods pdq

http://wvmetronews.com/2016/06/23/video-burning-house-floats-down-howards-creek-in-white-sulphur-springs/

The National Weather Service Office in Blacksburg, Va. told MetroNews Thursday night at 9:30 the 24-hour rainfall totals for Greenbrier County included 9.37 inches at Maxwelton, 8.17 inches at White Sulphur Springs and 7.53 inches in Rainelle.

[Eugene]

2. 14 Dead in West Virginia Floods; Focus on Search and Rescue

Source: Associated Press

14 Dead in West Virginia Floods; Focus on Search and Rescue

By JONATHAN MATTISE, ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Jun 24, 2016, 3:25 PM ET

A deluge of 9 inches of rain damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes in West Virginia, knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses and killed 14 people, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Friday.

About 500 people were stranded overnight in a shopping center when a bridge washed out, and dozens of other people had to be plucked off rooftops or rescued from their car as waters quickly rose during the storm.

"Our focus remains on search and rescue," the governor said during a news conference. He added: "It's been a long 24 hours and the next 24 hours may not be much easier."

The deaths included an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy who were swept away in rushing creek waters in different counties, authorities said. Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill described "complete chaos" in his county, one of the hardest hit.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/multiple-fatalities-reported-west-virginia-flooding-40101073

[Purveyor]

3. At Least 18 Dead As Historic Ffloods Sweep West Virginia

At least 18 people, including an 8-year-old boy who was wading in a foot of water, died in massive floods in West Virginia from a storm system that has dumped an historic amount of rain in parts of the state, state officials said Friday.

As much as 8-10 inches of rain fell in six to eight hours in parts of West Virginia, the National Weather Service said. This amount of rain in such a short time is likely a "one-in-a-thousand-year event," the weather service said.

It was the third-deadliest flood on record in West Virginia, according to the West Virginia state climatologist Kevin Law. Only the Buffalo Creek flood in 1972 (when 125 died after a dam break) and a November 1985 flood (when 38 died from a combination of Hurricane Juan's remnants and another storm) killed more in the state, Law said.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin told reporters Friday that damage is widespread and devastating. Saying search and rescue missions are still a top priority, Tomblin issued a state of emergency for 44 counties and deployed 150 members of the National Guard to help emergency responders.

MORE...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/06/24/2-dead-floods-sweep-west-virginia/86329316/