FAIRMONT – The signature ruggedness and remoteness of the Mountain State can turn into a reverse-negative version of the postcard pretty quick.
Which is what happened across central West Virginia on Tuesday.
A fierce line of heavy storms blew through, swamping homes, businesses and roadways.
In Lewis County, a stretch of Interstate 79 near the Jane Lew exit was underwater. Some 3,100 Division of Highways workers are working to clear all the state thoroughfares that were hit.
In Upshur County, where most of Buckhannon, the county seat, was still mired in water Friday, two people have died in the surge, according to official reports.
“You have to think about just how out-of-the-way we are in West Virginia,” Marion County Sheriff Roger Cunningham said.
Roger Cunningham
“A lot of people need help and are going to need help.”
That’s why he directed a contingent of his deputies to Upshur, for assistance with general policing.
“As law enforcement officers, our commitment extends beyond the borders of Marion County,” the sheriff said. “We’re going to help. This is what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Chris McIntire, who directs 911 services for Marion, seconded that.
He dispatched the county’s swift-water rescue teams to Upshur, along with additional drone units to Lewis, to survey highway damage from above.
“They’d do the same for us,” McIntire told The Dominion Post earlier.
Meanwhile, the Tygart Valley United Way, which is based in Fairmont and covers Marion, Taylor, Barbour, Tucker and Randolph counties, is also doing outreach by way of collection drives and an online “Lewis Upshur Flood Fund.”
Visit Tygart Valley’s page on Facebook for all the particulars on how to donate.
“Lewis and Upshur are just outside of our coverage area,” said Casey Gilbert, the United Way’s community impact director. “They’re so close, though. And we are all in this together.”
In terms of the weather report, we are too.
AccuWeather is calling for the possibility of storms and thunderstorms through Wednesday from Morgantown to central West Virginia, including Lewis and Upshur.
