Recovery, Resilience and Hope: Flood Victims Continue Rebuilding

WHEELING -- Members of the Wheeling Rotary Club received an update Tuesday on ongoing recovery efforts in the Valley Grove, Triadelphia and Elm Grove areas following last year’s deadly flash flood.

The one-year anniversary of the disaster was commemorated last month with the dedication of a memorial in Triadelphia honoring the nine people who died in the June 14, 2025, flood.

Inscribed on the memorial are the names of the victims: Lisa McMasters, 59, of Triadelphia; Michael Bokanovich, 73, of Triadelphia; Travis Creighton, 19, of Triadelphia; Kyleigh Minch Shotton, 26, of Triadelphia, and her 3-year-old daughter, Parker Shotton; Michael Veronis, 74, of Moundsville, and his wife, Connie Veronis, 71, of Moundsville; and Sandra Kay Parsons, 83, of Triadelphia.

The memorial is located beside Triadelphia United Methodist Church at 189 National Road, where the Rev. Mike Palmer serves as pastor.

Speaking to Rotary members, Palmer said significant progress has been made in rebuilding homes and lives, though much work remains.

The Long-Term Disaster Recovery Board, which includes the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley and numerous partner organizations, continues to assist residents affected by the flood.

“We were able to reconstruct 85 homes,” Palmer said. “At any given time during the first four months we were feeding 1,125 people every day.”

He said the extent of the destruction was difficult to convey through photographs or video.

“In person, it looked like a bomb went off on National Road,” Palmer said.

People from throughout the Ohio Valley and beyond came together to help flood victims by donating food, clothing, cleaning supplies, money and other necessities, he said.

Palmer said the church has since established a food pantry using many of the donations it received.

“We’re giving out food to 80 families per month,” he said. “The growth is coming back. The devastation we’re aware of, but what has transpired since that devastation is kindness, generosity and love. You feel that.”

Palmer said some residents are only now returning to their homes or moving into replacement homes after losing theirs in the flood. Others still need volunteers to help install drywall and wood framing.

Although life is gradually returning to normal, with children playing outside and homeowners rebuilding, many residents still experience fear when severe storms move through the area, Palmer said.

“It’s up to people like us to reach out and say, ‘It’s OK,'” he said. “The church doors will be open. That’s what we are there for.”