Multiple fatalities reported in West Virginia flooding

At one point during the height of the storms, there were 64 active emergency calls in Kanawha County, according to county spokeswoman Brooke Hylbert.

Severe damage to homes and infrastructure can be seen throughout the state, residents said. Houses were thrown from their foundations and the rubble lines creek beds all over the county.

Tomblin says he planned to fly around to the areas impacted today, but all state aircrafts are being used to assist in the rescue efforts.

In this photo released by the The Weather Channel, a vehicle rests in a stream after a heavy rain near White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on Friday. She smelled natural gas.

The National Weather Service said an EF2 tornado, with estimated wind speeds of between 115 and 125 mph, cut a path 11 miles long into the city of Pontiac.

Croft said he informed the boy’s mother that her son’s body had been found.

Rep. Evan Jenkins gave an update on our state’s rivers and dams, including the Bluestone, Summersville and Sutton dams.

A state of emergency has been declared in 44 of West Virginia’s 55 counties.

“Unfortunately, we’ve dealt with weather emergencies all too often the past several years, so we were prepared to act quickly”, Gov. Tomblin said in a press conference Friday.

Ripley Fire and Rescue said dive teams and boats from three different fire departments were involved with the search.

At least fifteen people were killed in flooding in West Virginia on Thursday and Friday, after torrential downpours hit the state.

Emergency crews have rescued dozens of people from the rising waters.

Authorities say the bodies of two people have been recovered in the flooding in West Virginia, and they predict the death toll will rise.

The video was taken in the town of White Sulphur Springs, in Greenbrier County. The latest victims haven’t yet been identified. “It’s really hard to navigate around because there’s just a ton of debris”. Kanawha County emergency officials said there were at least 70 water rescues. The other boy disappeared in Jackson County.

The grandfather jumped into the creek to try and save the boy, but was overcome by the rushing water. Neighbors, alerted by the sound of the family’s screams, tried to help save the boy but were also unable to reach him. Blackshire opted for a hotel room. Then the bridge to the mall washed out during heavy rainfall, stranding people there overnight.

“It was kind of like a hurricane party”. In nearby Greenbrier County, the grounds of the 238-year-old Greenbrier Resort, a National Historic Landmark, were partially flooded by water from Howard’s Creek.

The boy’s death was among at least four deaths during the epic flooding in West Virginia.

The storms left around 40,000 people without power throughout much of the day.

Alleghany County Public Safety Director Ryan Muterspaugh says the area saw the worst flooding it has seen since 2004.

“This was incredibly quick, this flooding”, Scott Finn from West Virginia Public Broadcasting tells our Newscast unit. The rains submerged homes and cars in dirty brown water and chewed up roads.

Earlier, it was reported that the dead includes three in Kanawha County, an 8-year-old boy in Ohio County and two men in Greenbrier County.

Tomblin said that some areas had experienced flooding that was the “worst” the state has seen in a century. One of the children slipped and the mother grabbed both the boy and his sister in the swift current. Wheeling police told The Intelligencer that an 8-year-old boy died after he was swept away by swift water.