Photo by Derek Redd An excavator scrapes inches of mud off the sidewalk along Lumber Avenue in Elm Grove in Wheeling following this past Saturday’s flash floods.

WHEELING — An eighth victim was added Wednesday to the list of fatalities following Saturday’s flooding in Ohio County, and officials say at least one person is still listed as missing.

The eighth casualty found Wednesday was an unidentified male, officials explained. Lou Vargo, director of the Ohio County Emergency Management Agency, indicated search teams had actually been looking for a female and the male found had not been reported as missing.

This leads officials to believe other victims may not have been reported, and additional victims could be found in the following days.

Vargo said his office working with other agencies had compiled a list of “credible victims.” These were persons reported by others who saw them struggling in the flood water.

“We all knew that while we had eight (victims), there were likely other people who were never witnessed who were in the water,” Vargo said.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey returned to Ohio County on Wednesday, and began the day with a roundtable meeting with local officials – including the mayors of flood disaster areas Valley Grove and Triadelphia. The intent of the meeting was to discuss the flooding and be proactive about any future flooding that could come, he explained.

“I think the community is in good hands,” Morrisey said. ” I think a lot of people have been working closely together, and it has been nice to see.

“We’re all on the same team when we come into the room, and that’s quite refreshing.”

He noted it has been “a difficult time for Ohio County,” and also mentioned flooding in Marion County that resulted in the collapse of an apartment complex there.

Fortunately, no one was killed in the Marion County incident, and all residents of the building have been accounted for, according to Morrisey.

During a press conference at the City-County Building in Wheeling later on Wednesday morning, Morrisey reminded residents affected by this week’s flood damage need to fill out assistance damage surveys.

Once surveys are completed, he plans to speak to President Donald Trump to push the need for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance for Ohio County.

Morrisey announced 690 surveys have been submitted so far, but he isn’t certain how long the process will take.

“There’s no timeline right now,” he said. “Right now we’re in the collection mode in terms of the surveys. As soon as we do that, we will be submitting to FEMA.

“We’re going to get the word out on the survey instrument. I know that we’re going to work very fast to get that application in.”

Morrisey added he has talked to people within the Trump administration “to let them know we’re working on it, and it will be coming in.”

“We’ve also been coordinating with our federal delegation, and they know this is happening, as well.” he continued. “We expect to have a united front to get this out.”

Morrisey acknowledged he hasn’t spoken yet on the issue to President Trump, with whom he has a good relationship.

“But I’ve talked to a number of senior people, and had a chance to catch up with Homeland Security Security Kristi Noem.” he said. “She has had some health issues recently, but we have been talking with senior people in the administration.

“I know President Trump cares deeply about West Virginia. He really does. So I’m going to make my best argument to him as to why Ohio County in West Virginia and Marion County… all these areas deserve the help to get our citizens back on the right track.”

Vargo explained there are two types of FEMA assistance.

The first is public assistance available to government entities to help them recover expenses spent during flood recovery. The money can be for the repair of infrastructure and roads, or even the cost of diesel fuel used during the event.

The second type of FEMA assistance is for individuals who sustained property loss during the flood. Morrisey, Vargo and other officials urge flood victims to complete the survey that can be accessed at emd.wv.gov/disastersurvey.

Those not having access to technology may call 211 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to report their damage.

“We also have people coming today (Wednesday) who are going out on ATVs to some areas and feeder streets,” Vargo said. “We know Route 40, Valley Grove and Triadelphia were heavily hit. We’re going out there to each of these houses and get these surveys done.”