By Wendy Nweke

No fewer than 44 people have been reported unaccounted for after floodwaters swept a riverfront Appalachian community of southwestern Virginia caused by heavy rains in the area on Wednesday.

According to local authorities, over 100 houses were also destroyed by the flood, while roads and bridges have been eroded by mudslides and high water according to Virginia state emergency official’s news briefing in a local TV WYCB, based in Bristol.

Reuters reported that about 18 search-and-rescue teams, including swift-water rescue crews have been deployed to the area in and around Whitewood, Virginia, early Wednesday.

Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy, Eric Breeding disclosed these to reporters.

Breeding said there were no confirmed fatalities or serious injuries so far, and that the 44 people mentioned as unaccounted reflected the number of individuals whose families have reported their whereabouts as unknown after floods struck.

They were not considered “missing” as yet, since many were likely to have been merely left unreachable because of telephone and electricity service interruptions in the region.

Meanwhile, Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency in southwestern Virginia in order to accelerate disaster aid to the flood-damaged area.

The downpours blamed for the flooding were part of a larger storm system that struck the mid-Atlantic region Tuesday night and early Wednesday, with showers continuing into the morning hours.

“Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in Buchanan County, along with power outages, impacts to roads and other infrastructure and significant resource and operational challenges,” Youngkin said in his declaration.

Source:vanguardngr.com