In Past 10 Years, # Of Floods In West Virginia Has More Than Doubled Over The 2006 - 2015 Decade

[hatrack]

In the decade since the devastating 2016 floods that cost 23 people their lives, West Virginia has seen the number of flooding events in the state more than double compared to the 10 years before, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s storm database.

Since July 1, 2016, there have been 1,059 floods and 905 flash floods recorded in the state, resulting in 21 total deaths, per the database. From July 2006 to before the June 2016 floods, the state recorded 324 flooding events and 441 flash floods with six related deaths. The increase reflects what researchers and emergency responders describe on the ground: more frequent disruptions, faster-moving water in mountain watersheds and recovery timelines that are often extended due to more storms.

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That prolonged recovery — emotionally and financially — is often exacerbated by repeated flooding events. According to Nicolas Zegre, the director of the Mountain Hydrology Laboratory at West Virginia University, the state and its residents are bound to see even more damage from floods in coming years as the number of events is expected to increase and outdated infrastructure puts more communities at risk. Zegre researches what factors leave certain communities more vulnerable to floods. He describes his research as community-driven, and trusts individuals who have lived through flooding events to be the experts in their own experiences, which he uses to inform his work alongside concrete storm and weather data.

“When we go around the state and when we talk with homeowners and business owners about their experiences around heavy rainfall, it is a pretty consistent story: It seems like it’s raining harder, more frequently,” Zegre said. “Our models that we use to understand how the system is changing are corroborated by those experiences. Citizens in West Virginia are experiencing heavier rainfall more frequently and that means, often, more flooding. ”Many of the state’s roads, bridges and culverts were designed for what Zegre described as a “previous century’s climate,” not the heavier rainfall now occurring in a warming atmosphere.

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https://westvirginiawatch.com/2026/06/29/a-never-ending-cycle-data-shows-flood-events-have-more-than-doubled-in-wv-since-june-2016-flood/

[Botany]

1. Warm air carries more water than cooler air, with W.V.'s topography, and how people homes and towns were

…. built along rivers, creeks, and streams up in the hollows along with large areas of what used to be forested land or stream bank vegetation being effected by the coal industry floods will happen. And
that is true through out Appalachia.

Thanx for posting.