Flooding devastates Upshur County
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BUCKHANNON -- Tuesday evening’s severe thunderstorms led to rapid, massive and devastating flooding throughout the Upshur County community that continued into Wednesday.
The National Weather Service states that between 3 and 5 inches of rain had fallen in the area by 7:26 p.m. Tuesday. According to NWS hydrograph data, the Buckhannon River gauge was observed at 28.66 feet as of noon Wednesday, which pushes well past the stream's defined major flood stage of 26 feet.
Late Tuesday night, Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a State of Emergency for all 55 counties as severe storms continue to move across West Virginia, resulting in flash flooding, landslides, road closures and other dangerous conditions. Around 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Morrisey stated in an operational update that “West Virginia’s response is fully underway.”
The governor reported that, as of noon Wednesday, there had been 85 rescues involving West Virginia DNR, with 310 National Guard personnel deployed, 19 National Guard/State Police helicopters on or available for rescue missions and three shelters operational.
Morrisey said no civilians were currently unaccounted for at noon and that there had been no confirmed fatalities.
After midnight on Wednesday, the Uphsur County Commission proclaimed a local state of emergency due to the widespread flooding. The Upshur County Commission's proclamation notes that “Upshur County has experienced widespread flooding resulting from significant rainfall, causing damage to public infrastructure, private property, roadways, bridges, culverts, utilities, and other essential facilities.” The Upshur proclamation also states that “emergency response personnel, volunteer fire departments, emergency medical services, law enforcement, highway crews and other agencies are actively engaged in protecting lives and property and responding to numerous emergency situations throughout the county.”
Around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Upshur County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management issued an immediate evacuation order for residents located on 1st Street through 5th Street and Cleveland Avenue “due to rapidly escalating hazardous conditions.” Cleveland Avenue has a bridge that goes over the Buckhannon River. A temporary emergency shelter was established at the Church of the Nazarene on 192 Zicks Run.
An Inter-Mountain reporter on the scene in Buckhannon Wednesday morning observed the Buckhannon River had swollen to almost the bottom of the Cleveland Avenue bridge, flooding into the area and the surrounding roadways. Roads around the Bicentennial Inn, Jawbone Park and the City of Buckhannon Fire Department were completely impassable, with multiple cars observed to be submerged. Helicopters could be seen flying over the city.
According to Mon Power, as of noon on Wednesday, 21,008 of their customers in West Virginia were without power. In Upshur County, 3,206 customers, 25% of the county, were without power at that time. Buckhannon had 2,639 residences without power, while Volga saw 246. Mon Power also reported that, as of noon Wednesday, Lorentz was at 100% outage with 17 out of 17 residences affected.
A little after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the City of Buckhannon Water Department announced that there was a major water line break that has since been corrected; however, the flooding in the area made it hard for crews to find and deal with the break.
“The City of Buckhannon Water Department became aware of a major water line break within our system, but due to the amount of flood water still present throughout the city, it took our crews more time to locate the line break,” a Water Department release stated. “However, the break was found, and it has been corrected.
“At this time, the City of Buckhannon Water Department has no plans to interrupt drinking water service to our customers,” the release states. “Our public works crews are fantastic, and are all working hard to make sure our utility services remain fully operational. If you do experience a service interruption, please contact Upshur Comm. Center at 304-472-9550.”
St. Joseph's Hospital announced Wednesday that clinic and outpatient appointments scheduled for that morning were canceled. Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital in Weston also canceled its outpatient appointments Wednesday.
“Due to the aftermath of yesterday’s flooding and the fact that several roads throughout the Buckhannon area remain inaccessible, all outpatient services and clinic appointments for today, Wednesday, July 22, have been canceled,” a St. Joseph’s social media post read. “Our teams are working to contact patients to reschedule appointments. If you have questions, please contact your respective clinic or medical suite directly and our staff will be happy to assist you.”
The Upshur County Courthouse, Annex and Administrative Annex were closed on Wednesday, alongside multiple businesses on Main Street in Buckhannon.
Around 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office announced it would be sending a team of deputies to respond to the Upshur and Lewis County areas for emergency flood duties. The department’s office will be a drop-off point for anyone wishing to contribute to supplies and manpower.
“The Sheriff’s Association has put together a response team, including those from Jackson County,” Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger stated in a video posed on social media. “I’m gathering up a team now to send up, including myself, and we’re going to take with us some supplies. Toiletries, water. The basic necessities of life that we all take for granted every day that these folks are no longer going to have for quite a while.”
In a press release regarding its ground and air operations, HealthNet stated that its HealthTeam Critical Car Transport experienced several disruptions, specifically from the Randolph County base, due to the flooding and road conditions. Transports that were traveling west along Route 33 have been restricted while operations moving north from the Braxton County base “have also been challenging.” Any ambulances unable to pass on certain roads took alternate routes, and HealthNet stated that all patients and crews remained safe throughout the transports. According to West Virginia 511, I-79 South has been shutdown at the Jane Lew exit and at the Stonewood exit.
HealthNet’s Aeromedical Services were also restricted during the height of the storm, the release states. As of Wednesday morning, however, air operations have fully resumed. While HealthNet's Buckhannon base is currently without power, the organization states it is operating normally with the use of generators.
"To ensure aircraft availability and uninterrupted service to the region, additional HealthNet Aeromedical Services aircraft and critical care level medical teams have been positioned at the Buckhannon airport to better support transport needs in Weston, Buckhannon, Elkins and surrounding communities," HealthNet said in its release. "This additional coverage will remain in place as long as needed."
HealthNet also announced that it is working with air assets from the West Virginia National Guard.
Early Wednesday morning, Morrisey announced that the West Virginia National Guard “continues to expand its support for communities impacted by severe flooding.”
“Liaison officers have deployed to county emergency operations centers, swiftwater rescue teams are assisting local responders, additional engineer personnel are being propositioned and aviation assets remain on standby as weather conditions allow,” Morrisey said. “Approximately 100 Guard members will arrive overnight in the Elkins and Weston/Buckhannon areas, with another 200 Guard members expected to arrive by mid-to-late morning. State and local agencies will remain on the ground for as long as it takes to help affected communities.”