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Tuesday, July 21, 2026 will be remembered as a terrible night for our local community. In Upshur County, around 5 inches of rain fell by 7:26 p.m. Tuesday, leading to massive flooding, which caused tremendous property loss, much of which is still being evaluated. On Thursday afternoon, it was confirmed that two people lost their lives in the flooding.
What can we learn from the worst of times? How can we find hope, a glimmer of sunlight in the gloom and tragedy?
First of all, this week we learned, once again, that our emergency response personnel in this part of the state is peerless. These local heroes worked tirelessly all night on Tuesday and well into Wednesday, helping those stranded and in need. More than 100 people were rescued during the flooding, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Thursday. We should all feel thankful for these hard-working, dedicated professionals.
We also learned, yet again, that West Virginians will pitch in and help out their neighbors during difficult times. Individuals and groups across the Mountain State, and beyond, have sent donations of supplies, money and volunteer man hours to Upshur County this week.
The Buckhannon Church of the Nazarene opened the church building to those who needed shelter Tuesday during the devastating storm, the only emergency shelter open in Upshur County that terrible night. A volunteer told The Inter-Mountain that the shelter housed 57 temporarily displaced local residents Tuesday night. The volunteer said police and EMS continued to bring rescued people into the shelter throughout that long first night.
The church officials and volunteers are to be commended for opening the church doors to the community, and for working such long hours to provide shelter and food. Going forward, church officials are planning to continue to help the situation by serving as a “resource hub” for the local community. Many supply donations have already been dropped off at the church, located on Zicks Run Road.
Much more help will be needed, of course. Upshur County officials are urging residents affected by the storms to fill out an online survey, which “allows the state to present a strong case for (federal) financial assistance to help you recover.” The survey can be accessed online at https://arcg.is/0LLOOG.
The Inter-Mountain would also like to thank the more than 200 local residents who submitted their personal photos online to help us document this tragic moment in time, so that people in the future can look back on it and learn. Learning is the key to finding hope for the future.