STORM SYSTEM FLOODS VA,WVA, NC

[AussieMark]

Storm System Floods Va., W.Va., N.C.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A storm system plowed through the central Appalachians into the Eastern Seaboard with heavy rain Wednesday, causing flooding that blocked roads and drove some people from their homes.

Schools were closed in parts of West Virginia and North Carolina because of flooding, the downtown area of one Virginia town was inundated and tornado watches were posted during the morning for areas scattered from Florida into West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.

No injuries were reported.

Up to 8 inches of rain fell in northwestern North Carolina. About 4 inches fell in 24 hours in parts of West Virginia, and an additional 4 inches was possible by Thursday, the National Weather Service (news - web sites) said. Flood watches or flood warnings were posted for all of West Virginia, where some areas had flooding just last week.

Floods and rock slides blocked parts of more than 100 West Virginia roads, and many secondary roads in western North Carolina were flooded, officials said.

West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise declared emergencies in 12 counties and said more probably would be added.

Evacuations were reported in nearly a dozen West Virginia counties, and emergency crews had to use boats to rescue residents in some places. Twenty school systems were closed or opened late because of water rushing across roads used by buses.

Monroe County in southeastern West Virginia prepared to keep its 2,100 students in hilltop schools overnight because water blocked parts of U.S. 219, the county's main thoroughfare, said Superintendent Lyn Guy.

"Any parent who comes out in a car is risking their own safety," Guy said.

At Hinton, about 60 miles southeast of Charleston, Summers High School was evacuated because a nearby creek threatened the building, and patients at Summers County Appalachian Regional Hospital were moved to the third floor.

The hospital's emergency room was open only for "dire" cases, said spokesman Ted Weigel. "If somebody pulls up in a boat, they're going to treat them," he said.

Streams also overflowed in southwest Virginia, and water was 3 feet deep in downtown Bluefield after three creeks spilled over their banks, Town Manager Todd Day said.

"It's still raining, so it could still get worse," Day said from the small community near the West Virginia line, about 35 miles south of Hinton. "The majority of the businesses downtown ... the mayor's office and the (old) town hall is flooded. Everything is flooded out."

The same mass of wet weather struck the Gulf states earlier in the week, producing tornadoes in Texas and Mississippi and knocking out power to 50,000 customers. More than 50 people were injured from Texas to Alabama, and a Texas teenager drowned in a flooded car

[weatherlover427]

I did not know that things were that bad. :o Thanks for sharing.