WELCH, WV (WOAY) Recovery efforts are ongoing in McDowell County as yet another round of winter weather threatens to delay and derail ongoing flood relief. As crews clearing roads and checking on residents are grappling with a historic catastrophe.
“This is the worst flood in the recorded history of McDowell County,” McDowell County Emergency Management Director Bobby Bowman said in a press conference today.
The death total has risen to three. In a media briefing today, Governor Patrick Morrisey identified two of the victims as Donald and Debbie Griffin. They lived in Welch. The third victim has not been identified.
A firefighter also passed away while responding to a structure fire. The West Virginia State Fire Marshal identified him as Deputy Chief Jeffrey Lawson. He was on his way to the fire when he had a health issue while on the way. He was taken to Welch Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Another firefighter collapsed at that fire scene and was treated for difficulty breathing and smoke inhalation. He was airlifted to Charleston and was released overnight. His name is Gary Coleman. According to the state fire marshal, the house that was on fire belonged to Coleman.
Watch the full briefing here:
Recovery has been a mammoth effort, and it has intensified as crews try to get as much done before the next round of snow begins to fall over McDowell County.
“We want people to know that we’re doing our best. We’re trying to accommodate as many people as we can at this juncture with the weather that’s coming. We want to make sure that we got people dry and warm,” McDowell County Commission President Michael Brooks said. “We have a great deal of severe weather that we have been threatened with, up to seven inches of snow that’s going to severely hinder, if not halt the efforts we have. There’s been so much scramble today and attempts to make things better and get things fixed as much as possible.”
The county commission is urging McDowell County residents to fill out the West Virginia Emergency Management Division’s storm damage survey. While it is not a direct application for disaster assistance, it will assist the state government as it requests help from the federal government.
Governor Patrick Morrisey has officially asked President Donald Trump for a federal disaster declaration. All four members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation are supporting that request.
Although the request has not been granted, Brooks expects the federal government to eventually send help.
“[The governor’s office] has been notified by FEMA that they are in receipt of it. This week they’re going to be scheduling their joint damage assessments to try to get that up and going,” he said. “Do we know for sure? I absolutely not. But I absolutely see there’s no way that it could not be granted.”
There has also been a non-emergency flooding hotline set up. By calling (888) 929 – 4966, you can get non-emergency flooding help or make a donation.
McDowell County schools have been closed indefinitely. According to Dr. Ingrida Barker, McDowell County school superintendent, the focus for now is making sure that students and families are taken care of.
“At this point this week, we are focusing on the basic needs for our students, their families, and our staff,” Barker said. This is our purpose this week.”
She has also worked with the county commission to open several of the school buildings as shelters. Mount View High School and Southside K-8 are open and offer showers, snacks, and meals. Iaeger is open as a shelter as well but does not have water. They will all have internet access and phone charging stations.
There is no timeline for schools to reopen. When school can resume, it will almost certainly look different.
“It might be a mixture of in-person, maybe a mixture of virtual send packets home because we do need to graduate our seniors. We need to make sure our students have the skills to go on to the next grade and our career and technical students have social service projects in our community and get their hours that way,” Barker said.
The county has opened additional shelters at Reclamation Church in Welch, Houston Methodist Church, Panther Missionary Baptist Church, Kimball Catholic Church, and Free Will Baptist Church.
Water is being distributed at all of those shelters. There are additional distribution centers at Bradshaw Church of God, Berwind Pentecostal Christian Center, Missionary Baptist Church, War Volunteer Fire Department, Roderfield Volunteer Fire Department, Davie Volunteer Fire Department, Gary Volunteer Fire Department, Anawalt Volunteer Fire Department, Coalwood Volunteer Fire Department, and Keystone Volunteer Fire Department.
Road conditions have improved, but there is still a long way to go. Both the Division of Highways and National Guard have heavy equipment in McDowell County. People are advised to stay off the roads as much as possible, especially with the approaching winter storm.
“We had almost 800 calls during the flood at the 911 center. And we don’t need anymore hurt or wrecked,” Bowman said.
There are water outages throughout the county, as flooding destroyed water infrastructure in its path. The hardest hit area was the Bradshaw and Juno area. There’s no estimate on when service will be fully restored.
There has also been an outpouring of support from volunteers in McDowell County and beyond. People are on the ground to provide food, water, clothes, and even medical care.
“We’ve brought our mobile unit, and we’re offering tetanus vaccinations. I’m encouraging people to go to some of our other clinics to get their Hepatitis A vaccinations, and possibly Hepatitis B vaccinations as well,” Robin Riddle, a nurse practitioner for Tug River Health Association, said. “There’s a lot of stuff in the water that can expose people to potential issues. We know people get scratches, they get cuts, they can get injured. The tetanus shot is going to keep them from developing bacterial infections.”
Local businesses are stepping up to help. Latin Appalachian in Downtown Welch was largely spared from the worst of the flood. Because of that, owner and chef Roberto Diaz is able to step up in a big way for his community.
“When we got here, it was two feet of water from a restaurant. All these tires are lying around. Two of them managed to wedge into the front door like a barrier,” Diaz said. “The whole building was dry except for like a little three-foot by three-foot spot in the corner. So we said ‘All right, we’ll just cook our food until it’s gone for free for people who are out cold or hungry.’ It just snowballed from there. People were donating, giving us food, the hardware stores gave us propane, grocery stores gave us groceries.”
Latin Appalachia has prepared more than a hundred pots of soup and is distributing other donated food.
The sense of community in Welch right now is noticeable.
“Where I work, the damage wasn’t as bad. We want to make sure that the people down here have equal opportunity to get help,” Riddle said.
The weight of the situation is also being felt.
“Yesterday after my 97th pot of soup, my two pans that I had the bottom buckle. It just gave out. And I don’t know why it was so emotional for me,” Diaz said. “I broke down because it was something that started this place and it ended with this disaster.”
