WV flood response still in ‘search and rescue’ phase, governor says

by Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
July 22, 2026

Response to flooding across central West Virginia is still in the “search and rescue” phase, Gov. Patrick Morrisey told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Morrisey said officials are concerned about loss of life after Tuesday’s storms, which brought 5 to 6 inches of rainfall and damaging winds, leading to flash flooding, landslides, road closures and other dangers throughout the state.

“We remain in a position where we’re looking to identify any individual who we might be able to save,” Morrisey said. “So we’re always looking for new information and new tips. 

“But that’s critical. While we have a lot of resources that we’ve deployed, that remains job number one: protect human life, and that’s what we’re focusing on,” he said. 

In a post earlier Wednesday on the social media platform X, the governor said that no “civilians” were unaccounted for, and there are no confirmed fatalities from the flood.

Morrisey declared a state of emergency Tuesday evening for all 55 counties in the state because of the storms.

Upshur, Lewis and Pleasants counties in North Central West Virginia were among the hardest hit. 

The governor spoke to reporters during a news conference Wednesday afternoon outside of the Buckhannon Police Department. 

Morrisey said in Buckhannon 4.5 inches of water fell within 37 minutes on Tuesday, which left the water with nowhere to go. There was still a “fair amount” of water covering the city Wednesday, he said, but officials expect the river to crest and start to go down. 

“I think that we’re going to soon move to a phase where we’re able to better clear out a lot of the debris within the roadways, and obviously make sure that we shine a path to allow more and more power to get restored,” the governor said. “That’s a critical part of the efforts right now.”

The main line of severe weather has moved through the area but the ground is still saturated, Morrisey said. 

Homes and businesses in Buckhannon and Upshur County were badly damaged by the flooding, which left roadways throughout the city impassable, according to a social media post from Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner. In addition, cell phone carriers in the area were experiencing disruptions that were adding to communication problems from an overwhelming 911 call center, he said.

“As the mayor of the City of Buckhannon, my hometown, the place I love so much… I am devastated,” Skinner wrote. “This is heartbreaking on so many levels. The damage in many parts of our city is overwhelming. I am heartbroken for every single person who is suffering because of this natural disaster.”

Skinner said the city had received an overwhelming number of messages from people wanting to help. He said the city would respond to people as quickly as possible but cell phone and internet access were “spotty at best.” 

Parts of the city of Weston were still under several feet of water Wednesday, West Virginia MetroNews reported.

Lewis County officials declared a local state of emergency due to flooding, county commissioner Bobby Stewart wrote in a news release posted to Facebook Wednesday. The declaration said the county “experienced widespread flooding resulting from significant rainfall, causing damage to public infrastructure, private property, roadways, bridges, culverts, utilities, and other essential facilities.”

High water covered Interstate 79 at the Jane Lew exit as of Wednesday morning,

Wind destroyed a cell phone tower along State Route 16 in Pleasants County, according to WBOY.

Flood warnings were still in effect Wednesday morning for Taylor, Harrison, Barbour, Upshur and Tyler counties as well as northern Pleasants County, Joe Curtis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Charleston, told West Virginia Watch.

“In all of those places, there was a lot of water that fell yesterday,” Curtis said. “Some of those places saw 6 inches or more of rainfall, specifically in Upshur County and also part of Harrison County. So we saw a whole lot of rain in those areas, and there still is some lingering high water today, which is why we still have that flood warning in effect for lingering high water.”

Curtis said there were also reports of straight-line wind in areas of the state, including northern West Virginia as well as the Interstate 64 corridor, including Huntington and Charleston.

“(There were) quite a bit of tree down reports from yesterday’s storms,” Curtis said. He said the weather service has not yet determined whether the winds were due to a derecho. 

The Weather Service has also not yet confirmed whether tornadoes were a part of Tuesday’s weather events. Curtis said Wednesday the weather service is still “gathering information” about the storms. 

More than 500 members of the West Virginia National Guard have been deployed to assist with storm response, Adjutant General Jim Seward told reporters. Swift water teams from the Guard responded Tuesday night to help local teams with water rescues, he said. 

Several people were rescued from high water in Upshur County, according to reporting by West Virginia MetroNews. 

“Hopefully soon, we’ll move from search and rescue to recon and assessment, and then the route clearance, logistics and community support, and we’ll finish up with debris removal,” Seward said. “We’re here for the long haul.”

Morrisey said in a social media post Wednesday afternoon that the state Division of Natural Resources had been involved in 85 water rescues. In addition, 3,100 employees of the state Department of Highways and more than 300 pieces of heavy machinery had been dispatched, Morrisey told reporters.

“We (need) to make sure that we’re putting all the resources in that these counties need,” Morrisey said. “Obviously, in different parts of the state, we’re pumping water off of flooded highways, clearing debris, repairing washouts, inspecting bridges. Obviously the goal is to reopen roads as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Morrisey said “state and local agencies will remain on the ground for as long as it takes to help affected communities.” 

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