CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Water gushed into homes, washed away at least five bridges and cut off access to two towns as heavy rainfall pelted parts of southern West Virginia still reeling from record floods earlier this month.
Rain fell sporadically across the state Thursday, with some areas getting more than 1.5 inches in a one-hour period.
"We were just in the process of trying to recover from the initial one, and now here we go again," said David Neal, deputy director for emergency services in Fayette County.
Access to the towns of Pax and Mount Hope was cut off Thursday night by high water, according to the state Office of Emergency Services.
"I am heartsick," Pax Mayor Shirley Roberts told The Charleston Gazette. "It's hitting the same places in the exact same way as before. I have lived here 20 years and have never seen anything like it."
The National Guard and Mount Hope firefighters evacuated 50 families from the Kilsyth area after their homes were flooded for the second time this month, Neal said. "Whatever the water didn't close, we closed," Emergency Services Director Steve Cruikshank told The Register-Herald of Beckley. Two rock and mud slides closed state Route 41, and several smaller roads were either flooded or blocked by debris.
At least 3,550 American Electric Power customers from Huntington to Bluefield were without power Thursday afternoon. Power was restored to all but about 350 by 9 p.m., AEP spokesman Phil Moye said.
In Boone County, heavy rains sent water polluted with coal, known as blackwater, from an Elk Run Coal Co. preparation plant near Sylvester into the Big Coal River, the OES said.
On July 8, up to 10 inches of rain fell within a few hours, causing massive flooding. Two people were killed, about 1,500 houses were destroyed and another 3,500 were damaged.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has estimated that it will take at least $180 million to recover from the damage.
On the Net:
FEMA: www.fema.gov/
West Virginia Office of Emergency Services: www.state.wv.us/wvoes/