W. Va. Towns Devastated by Floods

K I M B A L L, W.Va., July 10 -- Alec Amerson, 82, looked at what once was his town.

He pointed to buildings and said, "That one was a Laundromat. That one was a church. That one was a beauty shop. The one beside it was a funeral home."

What was left Monday was a row of broken windows, water-drenched stores with merchandise in jumbled heaps, buildings whose wooden fronts were caved in.

Down the road, Donna Gianato stared at Gianato Hardware, which she and her husband operate.

"We're just completely in shock. This whole town is gone," she said.

Gianato's father-in-law, James Gianato, 75, said his general merchandise store next door was destroyed. He has a small amount of flood insurance, but not much.

"We never thought we needed it because we've never had water before, at least not like this," he said, looking at a water mark about 5 feet high.

A Big Question Mark

When asked if his town would rebuild, Kimball Mayor Jack Premo, 78, said, "I would put a big question mark beside that."

Kimball was not alone. Waters emerging from the Elkhorn River — little more than a wading stream most days — also created similar damage to portions of other McDowell County towns on U.S. Route 52: Northfork, Keystone, Superior, Vivian and Welch.

Just north in Wyoming County, the towns of Mullens, Oceana and Matheny were essentially shut down Monday, as business and home owners looked for ways to salvage what flood waters hadn't destroyed.

Edwin Toler, from Matheny, stared at a bridge where an entire mobile home had lodged. Rising waters of the Guyandotte River on Sunday had essentially welded the trailer into the side of the bridge.

"This one's not the only one. There was another trailer that passed under the bridge," he said.

Millions in Damage

The total cost of damage from flash floods that swept through southern West Virginia on Sunday was well over $20 million, said state Department of Military and Public Safety Secretary Joe Martin.

"Let no one underestimate the severity of this flood," said Gov. Bob Wise. "This is probably going to be the most costly flood in West Virginia's history. This is going to be a very costly flood."