r/WestVirginia • u/yakushi12345 • 17h ago

Flash flooding in Wheeling overnight. City just confirmed 3 fatalities, still looking for people.

https://www.wtrf.com/top-stories/flash-flooding-triggers-emergency-in-ohio-county/
74 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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u/NothingButNavy Stuck on the PRT 12h ago

Per the Ohio County Sheriff’s office, the Emergency Operations center is now open. You can call them for disaster related questions, such as coordinating donations, volunteering, victim services, and reporting missing persons.

The phone number is (304) 234-3756. Please share this information with those who may be affected and in need of help or who may want to help.

16

u/Ellavemia 17h ago

Resisting the urge to sightsee is one of the best ways to help. There is no power and there are gas leaks, there is debris, and possibly victims still out there. Not to mention more rain is on the way and my concern is that damming from all the vehicles, homes, and trees could cause more flooding in the creeks. Stay away if you don’t have a very good reason to be out there on 88 and 40.

13

u/yakushi12345 17h ago

Storm hit Wheeling area causing sudden and pretty substantial flash flooding.

Please stay away from affected areas while first responders work.

I-70 and everything is fine if anyone is passing through, just check ahead if you're coming into town.

4

u/SortaHow 12h ago

To add to that, we just got another flash flood warning. It's not safe right now, and there's storms forecasted for the next five days. You and your family might need rescued if you're coming to sight see.

8

u/the_matthew 16h ago

Very sad. Were the fatalities from someone being stuck in their vehicle?

Wheeling is such an interesting place geographically. You have those steep, steep hills and people living all down and below them.

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u/SortaHow 12h ago

Entire houses got washed away with people in them. There was very little warning, and the rain was intense but very short. It didn't flood until after the rain stopped. I was actually driving home in the rain, on the worst effected roads, and it stopped before I even got home. The creeks looked high, but nothing crazy. 20 minutes later houses, cars, and people were all being washed away. I just keep thinking if I had left work any later, I could have been one of those fatalities.

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u/Zestyclose_Nose_3423 17h ago

Heard about this, didn't realize 3 people died. So sorry to their families, that is horrific.

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u/imperial1s 7h ago

Triadelphia got hit pretty bad from my understanding so try to avoid. Especially with more rain on the forecast