Friday Morning WV SEOC UPDATE

2/7/2020

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: West Virginia State Emergency Operations Center-Flooding in Southern Counties

CHARLESTON, WV – As directed on Thursday by Governor Justice, the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) remains at partial activation status this morning.

Overnight, the SEOC monitored water levels in rivers and streams, maintaining contact with liaisons in the field and local jurisdictions for any new issues or resource requests.

On Friday, agencies coordinating emergency response within the SEOC include Office of the Governor, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), Intelligence/Fusion Center, National Guard and Division of Highways (DOH), along with the state chapter of the Red Cross, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD), FEMA Region III, and the National Weather Service.

As of 9 a.m., we have received updates from all counties affected by yesterday’s rainfall and the agencies represented at the state and local emergency operations centers.

· Receiving the greatest amount of rain on Thursday at 3.36 inches in Welch, McDowell County continues its State of Emergency and activation of their emergency operations center.

o McDowell County Emergency Management, the Red Cross and VOAD will begin performing damage assessments this morning.

o Eight roads remain closed due to high water or debris, but the hospital in Welch is now accessible.

o Water is beginning to recede and there are no unmet needs at this time.

· In Raleigh County, an alternate access road to the Raleigh Center in Daniels is complete and operational.

· Wyoming County reports 300 residences without power and five roads remain closed.

· Mingo County has requested assistance from the DOH for road closures.

· The WV National Guard has stationed two high water vehicles at the War Volunteer Fire Department and maintain coordination with DHSEM for any resource requests.

· The DOH reports a diminishing number of roads closed in the southern counties. Please check www.wv511.org for road conditions.

· The American Red Cross and VOAD remain on standby at both state and local emergency operations centers to assist with relief efforts as requested.

· Over the next 24 hours, the National Weather Service reports the flood wave will continue to move down rivers, with lessening impacts as it moves downstream.

o Moderate flooding at Williamson as the flood wave continues to move down the Tug Fork River and along the Bluestone River from Spanishburg to Pipestem.

o Minor flooding is occurring along the New, Meadow and Coal Rivers.

o Snow this morning, decreasing to scattered snow showers later today and overnight. Additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches in the lowlands, and 3 to 7 inches in the mountains.

o Temperatures will warm to above freezing in the lower elevations, helping improve roads.

o Windy in the mountains with gusts up to 45 mph in the mountains.

o Low temperatures tonight will fall well below freezing, causing icy spots on wet roads. Some additional light snow accumulations also likely.

Areas of the state remain under Flood Warnings, Winter Weather Advisories and a Winter Strom Warning for Greenbrier County into the weekend. Governor Justice urges citizens to monitor their local weather situation via television, radio, and news outlets, the National Weather Service, and by following WVDHSEM on social media. WVDHSEM will be posting updates as conditions develop to the WVDHSEM Facebook and Twitter pages at: https://www.facebook.com/WVDHSEM/ and https://twitter.com/WVDHSEM.

The next situational update is scheduled for today at 5 p.m. Using this information, Governor Justice and WVDHSEM Director Mike Todorovich will determine SEOC operations for the next 24-48 hours.

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For more information, contact the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Public Information Officer Lora D. Lipscomb at: (304) 558-5380 or email: lora.d.lipscomb@wv.gov.

Contact Information

Lora Lipscomb, WVDHSEM Public Information Officer