West Virginia Floods: 23 Dead, Federal Disaster Declared

The bodies of three more people were recovered overnight in West Virginia, raising the death toll to 23 from the devastating floods that have destroyed at least 100 homes and washed out entire roads.

The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office said Saturday the three flood-related deaths were reported overnight in the Elkview area. Authorities recovered the bodies of a man and two women who had most likely drowned. A caller told authorities that the man may have been electrocuted, however first responders did not confirm that report.

The West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management confirmed the fatalities from the flooding. WSAZ reported the death toll rose to 23 with the additional deaths in Kanawha County.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Tomblin said a federal Major Disaster Declaration from FEMA to assist Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties, which were severely affected by the flooding, has been granted. The agency deployed teams to the state on Friday to start the application process for a Federal Disaster Declaration.

The declaration will provide individual assistance, which includes emergency medical support, housing and addresses a number of immediate needs for the residents.

At least 15 flood-related deaths were reported in Greenbrier County, and The Greenbrier, a resort set to host a PGA tournament in July was completely overrun with flood waters. Saturday, the tournament was canceled. Officials said six deaths were reported in Kanawha County, one in Ohio County and one in Jackson County.

• See Also: Greenbrier Class Canceled Due To Floods

At a press conference Friday, Tomblin said the effort remains on search-and-rescue missions with a total of 500 members of the state's national guard authorized to assist first responders.

The state had been dealing with severe weather that began earlier this week. The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down in Nicholas County on Tuesday and left the ground in Greenbrier County. Downed trees and wires were reported as a result of the tornado, but there were no injuries or fatalities.

Tomblin had declared a state of emergency in 44 counties by Thursday evening in anticipation of severe weather and had authorized members of the state's national guard to assist local emergency responders. Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas and Webster counties were the worst hit by the flooding.

“The flooding we experienced Thursday and into today is among the worst in a century for some parts of the state,” Tomblin said in a statement.

Rain totals in the state for a 48-hour period ranged up to 10 inches near the Virginia border, with most of the rain said to have fallen in just a few hours.

Hundreds of water rescues were reported across the state. In Elkview, authorities built a temporary roadway to rescue more than 500 people trapped in a shopping plaza for more than 24 hours. Officials were moving from a response to a recovery mode on Saturday, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports.

The state continued to deal with downed trees, closed roads and power outages into Saturday with over 30,000 residents still without power on Saturday. Several residents have been displaced and many are without water. A USA Today report said the flooding was the third deadliest on record in West Virginia.

The National Weather Service's forecast calls for warm weather into Sunday with showers and thunderstorms Sunday night into Monday before cool temperatures start Tuesday.

Image via Sen. Joe Manchin (Flood damage in Richwood, West Virgina)