Flash Flooding and Flood in West Virginia, May 2 to 4, 2002

Repetitive showers and thunderstorms moved rapidly across the southern coal fields, from the late morning hours to the early evening, on a Thursday, the 2nd of May. A few reports of large hail and gusty winds were received, but the major problem was the severe flash flooding in McDowell County. The heaviest rains were on the order of 2.5 to 5 inches, in a west to east corridor from northern Buchanan County, Virginia through central McDowell County. As a result, many more streams in McDowell County were flooded, compared to the 8th of July in 2001. In 2001, the downpours hit only the eastern portion of the county. Cooperative observers in Elkhorn measured 5.1 inches of rain, Welch had 5.0 inches, Paynesville 4.1 inches, War 3.9 inches, and Iaeger 3.3 inches. Automatic rain gauges recorded 4.4 inches of rain just north of Coalwood, and 4.1 inches of rain at Olga Lookout, south of Roderfield. These amounts fell in a 6 to 10 hour time interval. The heaviest rain rates were on the order of 1.5 to 2 inches in an hour. After escaping their flooded car, a 27 year old woman and her 14 month old daughter drowned. Their vehicle had been washed into Elkhorn Creek near Landgraff. The woman's body was found on the 3rd, a mile from the car, near Vivian. The child's body was found on the 4th, near Superior. In these narrow valleys, where humans compete for space with the streams, houses, vehicles, and private bridges were washed away. Roads were heavily damaged. Residents around Avondale's Crane Creek and in the hollows around Coalwood were especially hard hit, both from the rising streams and from the water flowing off timbered hillsides. One eyewitness said, "water was blowing from the mountainsides like an upcapped fire hydrant."President Bush declared McDowell County a federal disaster, FEMA disaster 1410. The flooding in McDowell County destroyed 197 homes, while 703 homes had major damage. These statistics were on the same order of magnitude as the flash flooding in July, 2001. McDowell County businesses saw 35 structures with major damage. Nearly 100 structures were eventually condemned. Numerous vehicles were also destroyed. Nine schools and five fire departments sustained damage. The school year for county children came to an abrupt end, over a month early. School damage was estimated at over 4 million dollars. About a dozen separate water systems were damaged and shut down. The main stem of the Tug Fork flooded downtown Welch with 1 to 4 feet of water. The water rose from a stage of 6.7 feet around 1530E to 17.7 feet by 1715E. A record crest of 22.1 feet occurred during the evening of the 2nd, surpassing the 19.8 feet crest in July of 2001. Indirect deaths also occurred in McDowell County. One tragic example, were the parents of a family left homeless after the flood in July, 2001. After the flood waters had receded, a tree loosened by the rains, fell off a hillside. The tree came crashing down on their vehicle. This occurred along Route 52 near Keystone. The mother and father were killed. The 3 children scrambled out of the sport utility vehicle with only minor injuries. The surge of water from the upper Tug Fork Valley, including the Knox Creek drainage of Buchanan County Virginia, caused river flooding through Mingo County on the 3rd. The gates to the Williamson flood wall were closed. Williamson had a crest of 42.15 feet around 1300E on the 3rd. That was the highest stage since May, 1984 when the river reached near 45 feet. The flood of record at Williamson was 52.5 feet in April of 1977. The flood wall protected most of Williamson, but dwellings outside its protection were damaged. The river crested at Kermit at 43.1 feet around 0030E on the 4th. Flood stage at Kermit is 38 feet. Mingo County was also included in the federal disaster declaration, with 85 homes destroyed and 44 homes with major damage. Seven businesses in Mingo County saw major damage.. In this disaster, nearly 700 National Guard troops were used for removal of debris. The American Red Cross served around 400,000 meals.