CLENDENIN, W.Va.—With the missing accounted for in all but one county, West Virginia on Sunday turned its attention to recovery after disastrous floods killed at least 24 people and rendered many more homeless. The deluge tore through roads and bridges and knocked out utilities that still haven’t been restored in some communities.
Federal money will be part of the rebuilding equation. Sunday marks the first day people can apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid in the three worst-hit counties.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration still believes there are people missing in Greenbrier County, and the death toll there rose by one Saturday, chief of staff Chris Stadelman said.
The focus is moving away from the days-long, difficult search and rescue process, where residents were helped off roofs, out of attics, and shimmied down trees into rescue boats. Through that arduous process, bodies were sometimes found and the death toll continued to rise.
