At least 25 people, including a toddler, have died and more than 500 homes have been severly damaged or destroyed in West Virginia after heavy rains caused flash flooding in several counties, according to the Weather Channel.
Both Virginia and West Virginia have declared states of emergency because of the devastating event.
The National Weather Service reported that 8-10 inches of rain fell in six to eight hours in parts of the state on Thursday. Rivers around the state reached historic levels Friday, officials said.
"The amount of rain that recently fell on parts of West Virginia and southern Virginia exceeded a once-in-a-century event for the specific area and resulted in catastrophic flooding in some communities," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
In Kanawha County, where the state capital, Charleston, is located, nearly 500 people were stranded at the Elkview Crossings Mall in Elkview for more than 24 hours starting on Thursday, when rain washed out an access road, CNN reported.
|Destroyed roads, homes
"Roads destroyed, bridges out, homes burned down, washed off foundations," said Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill. "Multiple sections of highway just missing. Pavement just peeled off like a banana. I've never seen anything like that."
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a state of emergency for 44 counties and deployed 300 members of the National Guard to help emergency responders, as of Sunday afternoon. The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Saturday granted a request from Tomblin for assistance for three heavily damaged counties: Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas.
In one dramatic scene on Thursday in White Sulphur Springs, the flood waters pushed a burning home down the Howard Creek.
(Source: YouTube, published June 24, 2016)
Electric utilities initially reported that almost 500,000 customers were without power, although that number dropped to 17,280 by Sunday afternoon. In neighboring Virginia, thousands were also without power, utilities officials said.
This Thursday June 23, 2016, image provided by the Greenbrier resort shows flooding on the 17th green of the Old White Course at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. Severe flooding hit the area that is scheduled to host a PGA tour event in two weeks. (Photo: Cam Huffman/The Greenbrier via AP)
Flooded homes are still surrounded by water in Rainelle, W. Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. About 32,000 West Virginia homes and businesses remain without power Saturday after severe flooding hit the state. The West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management also said Saturday that more than 60 secondary roads in the state were closed. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Bridgeport, W.Va., fireman Ryan Moran exits a home as he and a crew search homes in Rainelle, W.Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. Heavy rains that pummeled West Virginia left multiple people dead, and authorities said Saturday that an unknown number of people in the hardest-hit county remained unaccounted for. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Ron Scott, right, recovers a shirt from the burned remnants of his home that was swept off it's foundation and burned after from severe flooding hit in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Paul Raines looks over his flooded Western Auto store in Rainelle, W. Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
West Virginia Natural Resources police officer Chris Lester searches a flooded home in Rainelle, W.Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Mark Bowes, of White Sulphur Springs W. Va., makes his way to the road as he cleans up from severe flooding in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
A dog guards the front steps of it's home that was swept away by floodwaters in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Overturned cars litter the street as residents clean up from severe flooding in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Lee Bland, of White Sulphur Springs, looks for belongings in the burned out home of a relative as they clean up from severe flooding in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Jay Bennett, left, and step-son Easton Phillips survey the damage to a neighbors car in front of their home damaged by floodwaters as the cleanup begins from severe flooding in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Kelly Vaughan looks over flood damaged belongings in her fathers home as they clean up from severe flooding in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Friday, June 24, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Bridgeport, W.Va., firefighters, Steve Gallo, left, and Ryan Moran, center, are joined by an unidentified co-worker as they walk through a flooded street while searching homes in Rainelle, W. Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Shane Altzier starts to sweep out the mud from the town utilities office in Rainelle, W. Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Related: 8 ways to mitigate flooding risks
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Jayleen R. Heft
Jayleen Heft is the digital content editor for PropertyCasualty360.com. Contact her at [email protected].
