Flash flooding caused by torrential rains in northern West Virginia has killed at least eight people, including a 3-year-old child, officials said.
The search and rescue continues, and one person is still presumed missing, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said during a press conference on Wednesday.
"This is a very challenging time for the residents of Ohio County," he said. The governor spoke about stopping for coffee, where people were talking about the "vibrancy of the 3-year-old who was lost."
"We can't take that back, but we can honor their memory by coming together and doing everything we can to help remaining people that may be out there and help rebuild in Ohio County," he said. "This has certainly been a very difficult time."
AR Walker's flood-damaged ceramic shop sits destroyed near the Little Wheeling Creek on Monday, June 16, 2025.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
A damaged vehicle sits in flood debris on Monday, June 16, 2025, in Valley Grove.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
Officials said 2.5 to 4 inches of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within about half an hour on Saturday night. The unexpected deluge overwhelmed local waterways and infrastructure and submerged vehicles in small towns east of the Ohio River, including Triadelphia and Valley Grove, CBS affiliate WTRF reported.
In Fairmont, a city nearly 100 miles from Wheeling, severe flooding led to multiple water rescues on Sunday afternoon, CBS affiliate WDTV reported, including at an apartment building in Marion County.
A damaged bridge sits in flood debris on Monday, June 16, 2025, in Valley Grove.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
A city spokesperson told CBS News an apartment building had partially collapsed, but it wasn't immediately clear how many people were impacted. Residents were evacuated to Fairmont State University's campus, the spokesperson said.
Authorities said vehicles were swept into swollen creeks, some people sought safety in trees, and a mobile home caught fire. First responders successfully completed 19 swift water rescues, Morrisey has said. The governor said he's working closely with authorities from FEMA.
In this image provided by the Wheeling West Virginia Fire Department, cars sit submerged in floodwaters, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Wheeling West Virginia Fire Department via AP
"We almost immediately started getting 911 calls for rescue of people being trapped," Lou Vargo, Ohio County's emergency management director, said during a news conference Sunday. "During this time, we had major infrastructure damage to roads, bridges and highways, where we couldn't respond to a lot of incidents. So we were delayed in getting there because there was just so much damage."
Vargo added: "It happened so quickly and so fast. ... I've been doing this for 35 years. I've seen major floods here in the city and the county. I've never seen anything like this."
Jim Blazier, the fire chief in Wheeling in the state's northern panhandle, said crews performed rescue operations into Sunday's early morning hours. He said first responders regrouped Sunday morning and were focused on an area from the Ohio state line across the Ohio River to Wheeling Creek.
A vehicle sits in flood debris, Monday, on June 16, 2025, in Valley Grove.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
"We're searching the banks, we're searching submerged vehicles, any debris we find along the trail and so forth," Blazier said. "We're using drones, search dogs and swift water personnel, and we have teams organized that are searching sectors that we're trying to recover anybody that's missing."
There were about 2,500 power outages in the county as of Sunday afternoon, the governor said. Restoration efforts were hampered by natural gas leaks that need to be fixed first, officials said.
Morrisey declared a state of emergency in both Ohio and Marion counties. He said state police and other state officials were responding, and he directed the National Guard to provide any needed assistance.
The West Virginia rains followed heavy downpours in San Antonio on Thursday that killed 13 people. More than 7 inches of rain fell over several hours in the Texas city, causing fast-rising floodwaters to carry more than a dozen cars into a creek.
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