At least 23 people in West Virginia State in USA have died in the US state’s worst flooding in more than a century, and hundreds more have been rescued from swamped homes, officials said on Friday June 24,2016
The mountainous state was pummeled by up to 10 inches of rain on Thursday June 23,2016, 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.”
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 June 24,2016
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.
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.
US President Barack Obama declares disaster as West Virginia floods death toll climbs to 24
The death toll from flooding in the US State of West Virginia rose to 24 Saturday June 25,2016, as President Barack Obama declared a major disaster, releasing federal aid for some of the hardest-hit areas.The president "ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides," the White House said in a statement.
Days of heavy rain have caused massive flooding in the state, where high waters have washed away cars, trapped hundreds and cut power to large areas
More than 21,300 people were without power across the state Saturday evening according to the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Hundreds of homes had been severely damaged or destroyed and more than 60 roads remained closed, it said.
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