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Guard helping victims of West Virginia floods

Joe Hinkle of Tattoo Joe’s works outside his flooded business Sunday in Gilbert, W.Va. He didn’t have flood insurance for his 7-year-old business. “I can’t salvage anything at all.” (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Brian Farkas Associated Press
Joe Hinkle of Tattoo Joe’s works outside his flooded business Sunday in Gilbert, W.Va. He didn’t have flood insurance for his 7-year-old business. “I can’t salvage anything at all.” (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

GILBERT, W.Va. – The National Guard is helping residents in West Virginia’s southern coalfields recover from weekend flooding that destroyed at least 300 buildings, knocked out power and caused mudslides that flushed trash, debris and at least one mobile home downstream.

Gov. Joe Manchin toured the region and activated 300 Guard troops Sunday on top of the 30 he called up a day before when he declared a state of emergency for six counties, said Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spokesman Robert Jelacic.

Emergency crews, residents and business owners – some covered in mud – assessed the damage in Gilbert and used shovels to clean up after downpours dumped several inches of rain Friday and Saturday.

Milton Johnson, 56, said he was awakened about 2:15 a.m. Saturday, and within an hour, he, his wife and his mother, whose trailer next door was uprooted by floodwaters, were forced to seek shelter on a nearby hillside. Johnson said he’s lived in Gilbert his entire life and this is the first time he’s been flooded.

No injuries have been reported and seven miners trapped underground because of high water were able to walk out of the Mountaineer Alma mine near Wharncliffe on Sunday morning, Jelacic said.

Gilbert Mayor Vivian Livingood estimated 80 percent of the town’s businesses were affected by high water. Donations of money, supplies and food were pouring into the town, Livingood said.

Boone, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh and Wyoming counties were under a state of emergency. Assessments show Mingo County was the hardest hit by flooding, with about 300 structures destroyed, 1,000 with major damage and 2,000 with minor damage.

The National Weather Service in Charleston predicted a 20 percent chance of rain into today.

The storms were blamed for at least seven deaths in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas. Governors of Kentucky, West Virginia and Illinois declared emergencies or disasters in several counties.

More than 15,000 customers in eastern Kentucky had no water because lines were broken or washed away and almost 6,000 had no power.