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West Virginia Reported Missing During Water Rescue
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A firefighter attempting a water rescue in a flooded area of southern West Virginia was missing Saturday after his boat capsized, emergency officials said.
Laverne Stout, operations officer for the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said a woman also was reported missing in the Raleigh County floodwaters. She had no further details, and Raleigh County emergency officials did not immediately return a phone message.
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said a group of firefighters from the county was sent to the area near Beckley to assist with water rescues Saturday morning. He said a boat carrying the firefighters flipped, and one of the men never surfaced. The National Guard was assisting in the search.
Many areas of West Virginia are under water because of steady rain and melting snow. Gov. Joe Manchin has declared a state of emergency for 34 counties.
Stout said the most significant flooding was in the southern counties of Raleigh, Greenbrier, Fayette and Mercer. She said dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes, and 31 were staying in emergency shelters. State highway officials reported dozens of roads closed because of high water.
Jason Franklin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, said 1 to 3 inches of rain fell across the southern part of the state Friday night into Saturday. The Bluestone River southeast of Beckley hit a record 17.18 feet at 4 a.m., surpassing the previous high of 15.82 feet in April 1977. Flood stage is 10 feet.
Other rivers were nearing flood stage. Fans attending the girls basketball championships at the Charleston Civic Center were advised to keep their cars out of the parking lot adjacent to the Elk River, which was rising at the rate of several inches per hour and expected to flood the lot.
Minor to moderate flooding was forecast along other rivers and small streams in the southern and eastern parts of the state, but northern West Virginia was largely spared because it got less rain and snow melt than had been expected, Franklin said.
Related
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Laverne Stout, operations officer for the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said a woman also was reported missing in the Raleigh County floodwaters. She had no further details, and Raleigh County emergency officials did not immediately return a phone message.
Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper said a group of firefighters from the county was sent to the area near Beckley to assist with water rescues Saturday morning. He said a boat carrying the firefighters flipped, and one of the men never surfaced. The National Guard was assisting in the search.
Many areas of West Virginia are under water because of steady rain and melting snow. Gov. Joe Manchin has declared a state of emergency for 34 counties.
Stout said the most significant flooding was in the southern counties of Raleigh, Greenbrier, Fayette and Mercer. She said dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes, and 31 were staying in emergency shelters. State highway officials reported dozens of roads closed because of high water.
Jason Franklin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, said 1 to 3 inches of rain fell across the southern part of the state Friday night into Saturday. The Bluestone River southeast of Beckley hit a record 17.18 feet at 4 a.m., surpassing the previous high of 15.82 feet in April 1977. Flood stage is 10 feet.
Other rivers were nearing flood stage. Fans attending the girls basketball championships at the Charleston Civic Center were advised to keep their cars out of the parking lot adjacent to the Elk River, which was rising at the rate of several inches per hour and expected to flood the lot.
Minor to moderate flooding was forecast along other rivers and small streams in the southern and eastern parts of the state, but northern West Virginia was largely spared because it got less rain and snow melt than had been expected, Franklin said.
Related
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on
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I have been trying to keep informed on this story since just after it was released. I am in the Eastern Panhandle, where we too have flooding issues to deal with because of the recent rain on top of the snow that remained on the ground. I have lots of family & friends that live in & around the Charleston/St. Albans/Milton areas. Our fire departments in Jefferson & Berkeley Co.'s are sending prayers to all the departments, communities, families & friends in the lower parts of the state.
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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Sad story. However, you had me wondering how WV could disappear an be reported missing?
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Permalink Reply by kenny2243 on
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To all who read this Please Pray for our missing Brother and his family we here in West Virginia come together when one of our brothers Passes away so Please pray for him to be found and for his Family so that they may find closur Thanks again?
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Permalink Reply by Anita King on
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This is this mornings post from wvva:
Bluefield, W.Va. (WVVA) – The search for a missing rescuer has resumed once again Tuesday morning as searchers scour the Beaver Creek area for one of their own.
Donald Adkins was among the group sent from Kanawha County to assist in water rescues following the heavy flooding in the Beaver area.
A boat carrying Adkins and two other firefighters capsized in Beaver Creek after the engine jammed Saturday.
A rescue mission command center has been set up at the YMCA soccer complex to aid the search for the missing firefighter.
Officials are holding out hope that Adkins will be found alive
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Hey everybody. according to the wvva news team, operations have switched from rescue to recovery. We need to keep Firefighter Adkins family and his fire dept. family in our prayers.
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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Chief, I was thinking the same thing but if I had written that I would have gotten a nasty message about my attitude.
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Permalink Reply by mark Stiefer on
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they have located the body of the fallen firefighter in beaver wv today thank god they found him he was still in the water. i have no other info at this time. lets all remember his family and department in our prayers
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Permalink Reply by BALLPEIN on
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U.S. Fire Administration
The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official line of duty death of Firefighter Donald “Donnie” Adkins, 32, of the Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department on March 13, 2010.
Firefighter Adkins was part of a swift water rescue team working on a mutual aid rescue detail. He and two others were in a boat when the motor struck a piece of submerged material causing the motor to quit and the boat to drift away and capsize. Two team members made it to safety but Firefighter Adkins went missing. The men were attempting a rescue in the Beaver area at the time and had already fought the currents to rescue 11 people in another part of the county.
After almost seven days of searching in challenging terrain under very difficult circumstances, a body has been recovered from Beaver Creek near the accident site where the rescue boat tipped over. Identification is pending autopsy.
Funeral Arrangements:
Pending
Memorial Fund Contact and Address:
Donations in honor of Firefighter Donald Adkins can be made c/o the Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 190, 119 Tompkins AVE, Glasgow, WV 25086-0190.
Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Donald Adkins at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/
To date, 15 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2010; 14 from incidents that occurred in 2010 and 1 from a previous year incident. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/ff_stats....
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West Virginia Reported Missing During Water Rescue ??????????
Where did it go???
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