At a Glance
- At least 44 people are unaccounted for in southwest Virginia's Buchanan County after extreme flash flooding.
- At least 100 homes were damaged or destroyed, some washed completely off their foundations.
- Search efforts are being hampered by landslides, washed away bridges and roads and the remoteness of the area.
Dozens of people are unaccounted for in southwest Virginia after severe flash flooding pushed homes off their foundations and washed out roads and bridges.
The flooding happened in Buchanan County where the Sheriff said that multiple agencies would continue searching for the unaccounted for on Thursday.
At least 44 people were unaccounted for and well over 100 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Crucially, the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office said that just because a person is unaccounted for it doesn't mean they are officially missing and that as of Wednesday evening there were no reports of deaths or injuries. Instead, it's a reflection of the number of people who haven't been heard from by relatives and other loved ones.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in trouble or in danger. They’re just letting us know that we need to check on these people,” Buchanan County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Eric Breeding told the Associated Press.
The number is a reflection of how difficult it is to access and communicate with people in the remote area of Virginia.
Roads and bridges were washed out and landslides also blocked access to key roads, Billy Chimes of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management told CNN.
Deana Kimbrough told WCYB her family gathered at her house when the flooding started.
"We said if it got any higher that we were just going to start heading up in the mountains to try to get safe, but luckily, thank God, we didn’t have to.”
Seth Owens told the station, “We were sitting at this post office over here, and the next thing you know, the house is floating on down through there. We thought it was going to wash off. Two of the houses washed off.”
The worst flooding was in Pilgrims Knob and Whitewood and the surrounding communities.
Homes and cars were moved in the torrents of water.
More than two inches of rain have fallen in the county since early week.
Buchanan County also suffered serious flooding damage last year, when the remnants of a hurricane hit the area in August, washing away homes and leaving one person dead.
This week's flooding was less severe but more widespread, authorities said at the news conference.
Governor Glenn Youngkin issued a statement on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, stating "I am deeply saddened at the devastating news of flooding in Buchanan County. We are making every resource available to help those impacted. While rescue and recovery operations continue, please join me in prayer as we lift up our fellow Virginians impacted by this tragedy."
A state of emergency has been declared by the Governor to aid with the response and recovery efforts.
Portions of this report come from the Associated Press.
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