Ohio County and Wheeling Officials Tracking Rain, River Crest Predictions

Second round of river flooding expected this weekend

With the threat of more rain forecast today after days of wet weather, local first responders and emergency management officials are taking steps to ready their communities against potential floods.

Friday afternoon, Office of Emergency Management Director Tom Hart said numerous agencies in the county were meeting several times a day to ensure that they would be ready in a worst-case scenario situation. Hart said the planning began Thursday, when a countywide meeting was held with various public safety agencies, which coordinated their efforts and reviewed weather for the weekend. Hart said up to 3 inches of rain could fall overnight Saturday, which could pose a serious danger to residents caught unaware.

"Our biggest concern for Saturday, and into Sunday, is the threat for flash flooding," he said. "Overnight, there's extreme concern just for people being home, in bed, so it's critical for people to monitor the local weather forecasts and stay vigilant. We're looking at 2.5 to 3 inches of rain into Sunday."

"There's also potential for road closures due to landslides and mudslides, just because the ground is so saturated. Right now, we're planning on the worst. Even though the river crest projection (40 feet) is down a foot, depending on the amount of rain we get, those crest projections could fluctuate."

Similiar meetings were taking place in the Wheeling-Ohio County Emergency Management Agency office located in the basement of the City-County Building. Director Lou Vargo said while the area dodged a bullet with less rain falling Friday than expected, he warns residents to be aware that more, potentially heavy rain, could occur tonight into Sunday.

Wheeling Police Department spokesman Philip Stahl said all agencies are working together to do what they can to be prepared for more flooding this weekend.

"Everything still is kind of up in the air. First and foremost are the creeks and streams. You have the entire weekend to prepare for river flooding, but flash flooding is more with creeks. Saturday night and Sunday morning we are expecting 2 to 3 inches of rain. Things will be changing constantly so we will be taking it day by day with possible road closures. It's too early to tell what will happen, but everyone is gettign ready."

National Road, also referred to as Wheeling Hill, was reopened Friday evening after a mudslide closed all lanes on Thursday between Mount Wood Road and McColloch Street near Generation's restaurant. There is a lane restriction on the hill, however.

Hart said that when flood warnings are announced, they will be delivered by weather radios, text alerts and television warnings, and if areas are in imminent danger, public safety agencies will go door-to-door to notify residents personally.

He also said they had participated in a statewide briefing with the West Virginia OEM in the event of an emergency.

Hart added that the county commission signed a declaration of a state of emergency, allowing the OEM to begin amassing resources and putting them in place pre-emptively.

"We've been working with Rose Hart from Appalachian Outreach," he said. "We'll be working through her, the State OEM, and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, to get those resources, from bottled water to cleaning supplies."

Hart said that the previous cache of supplies, from the flooding which devastated McMechen as well as other parts of the county, had since run out.

County administrator Betsy Frohnapfel said the county commissioners had met in an emergency meeting Thursday to sign the declaration. The declaration, she said, allows the OEM more leeway in conducting their business, allowing for more prompt response to disasters, such as bypassing some restrictions on renting out equipment and more efficient drawing from a volunteer workforce.

Text alerts from the OEM are available by texting MarshallWVAlerts to 69310.

Meanwhile across the river in Belmont County, officials have been monitoring the creeks and river and following the latest weather reports in an effort to stay ahead of the situation.

"We're definitely watching the river levels," said Becky Horne, executive administrative assistant at the Belmont County Emergency Management Agency. "The ground is just saturated, so there is a lot of runoff."

Horne said that the EMA doesn't anticipate any significant problems today, and the organization is "taking it a day at a time." She said that the EMA is working closely with the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army to help make sure there are plans in place to possibly care for individuals and families displaced by flooding. She said that the EMA is advising those who know they live in a flood-prone area to keep a watchful eye on the water.

"Keep a close eye, and be vigilant," Horne said, adding that if anyone thinks the water is on the rise, that they should head for higher ground. "Sometimes it doesn't give you any notice."

(Jessica Broverman and Dylan McKenzie contributed to this story.)