Reuters reported: At least 23 people in West Virginia have died in the U.S. state’s worst flooding in more than a century, and hundreds more have been rescued from swamped homes, officials said on Friday.
The mountainous state was pummeled by up to 10 inches of rain on Thursday, causing rivers and streams to overflow.
“The damage is widespread and devastating,” Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said at a news conference. “Our biggest challenge continues to be high waters.”
A spokeswoman for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management put the death toll at 23. The hardest-hit area was Greenbrier County in the southeast of the state, with 15 deaths, she said.

Emergency crews take out boats on a flooded I-79 at the Clendenin Exit, in Kanawha County, West Virginia, June 24, 2016.

Multiple rivers have risen to dangerous heights, including the Elk River, which reached 32 feet, the highest since 1888, Tomblin said.
Government officials are focusing resources on rescuing those trapped or swept away by the flooding, he said, adding that some 66,000 residences are without power.
The governor declared a state of emergency in 44 of 55 counties and deployed 200 members of the West Virginia National Guard to help rescue efforts on Friday.
Though rivers were expected to crest by Friday night and the rescue and recovery effort is likely to last through the weekend, said Tim Rock, spokesman for the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
“There have been towns that have been completely surrounded by water,” Rock said. “People say there is 8 to 9 feet of water in their house.
“It’s at least into the hundreds forced to get emergency shelter,” he said. “Even if you can get back into your home, who knows what kind of shape it’s in.”
West Virginia received one-quarter of its annual rainfall in a single day, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira said. Rains eased on Friday.
The storms that drenched West Virginia were part of a severe weather system that swept through the U.S. Midwest, triggering tornadoes.
CNN reported: Forty-four counties declared a state of emergency Thursday night, primarily in the southeastern part of West Virginia. Elkview, Clendenin and Frame have been hit the hardest by the flooding, officials said.

Mark Lester cleans out a box with creek water as he cleans up in White Sulphur Springs on June 24.

Tomblin activated 200 National Guard members to assist in eight counties and has authorization for as many as 300 more to help with the rescue and response efforts, the governor’s office said Friday.
“Together with the National Guard, our first responders, local emergency management officials and firefighters from across the state have been working around the clock, and we are deeply appreciative of their efforts,” Tomblin said in the statement.
A 4-year-old boy was washed away by rapid floodwaters in Jackson County, officials said. The child was playing with his sister behind their home when he fell into what a stream that had instantly turned into a rushing current after the relentless storms. An 8-year old boy from Ravenswood was also killed in the violent storm.

A vehicle rests on its roof after flooding near White Sulphur Springs on June 24.

Severe damage to homes and infrastructure can be seen throughout the state, residents said. At one point during the height of the storm, there were 64 active emergency calls in Kanawha County, according to county spokeswoman Brooke Hylbert.
A 1,000-year flood
The high terrain along rivers in southeastern West Virginia are exacerbating the flooding, meteorologists said.
Weather radar estimates show that more than 10 inches of rain have fallen in portions of Greenbrier County. There is a 1 in 1,000 chance of this type of rainfall happening in any given year, according to the National Weather Service.

Overturned cars litter the street in White Sulphur Springs on June 24.

In Kanawha County, which includes the capital of Charleston, the Elkview River crested at 33.37 feet Friday morning, meteorologists said. The river rose more than 27 feet from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, the highest crest since record-keeping began more than 125 years ago, according to the National Weather Service.

Source: CNN, REUTERS, 25 June 2016