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CNN Live At Daybreak

Eight West Virginia Counties Declared Disaster Areas After Flooding

Aired July 10, 2001 - 07:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: And in West Virginia, the damage from weekend flooding is estimated at more than $20 million. Fayette County is among eight that have been declared disaster areas by the state's governor. One death is blamed on the flooding.

Let's get more now from CNN's Jeff Flock who is in Fayette County -- Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, the floodwaters this morning, Colleen, are gone, but this clean-up figures to be around for a long time. According to the state's governor, he estimates that cars, pieces of debris will be carried out of the West Virginia hills for months to come. No meaningful estimate on the amount of damage this morning, but if you take a look at that scene behind me, perhaps you get some feel for it.

As you report, one death and perhaps that's somewhat hard to believe, given what went on here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLOCK (voice-over): That's the Beckwith, West Virginia post office floating down Laurel Creek (ph) and as Betsy Perdue (ph) tells it, that's not all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boats and trailers and four wheelers and animals and other houses and whatever you name, it was just coming down. It was scary.

FLOCK: Nothing's scarier than Betsy's own home floating away. This is all that remains. The rushing floodwaters, still powerful a day later, washed out railroad beds, upended cars, eroded so much of some road beds that you can now walk underneath the blacktop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The force of this water was totally unbelievable.

FLOCK: Those that stayed through it now flee with what they can carry, some wheeling their belongings in baby strollers or tightrope walking thin boards that replace bridges down or wrecked.

(on camera): This is one of the lucky bridges, battered but unbowed. Still, it took the better part of the day till the misty dusk before they finished preparing the access road, which had been completely washed out.

(voice-over): That means the only way into some houses is uprooted woods roads on ATVs. This is the inside of Louise Williams' (ph) house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I can't explain to you how I feel. I just feel like I've lost everything.

FLOCK: She has and she is not alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLOCK: Indeed, 3,000 homes as we said, estimated damage including that one back there behind me. A thousand National Guard troops on the ground expected today to try and help out. As we said, it's going to take awhile.

That's the latest here from Fayette County, West Virginia.

MCEDWARDS: All right, Jeff Flock, thanks very much.

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