Floods inundate West Virginia

Heavy flooding trapped some people and washed away others' valuables

FAYETTEVILLE, West Virginia (CNN) -- Flooding wiped out roads, destroyed homes, forced hundreds from their homes and contributed to a woman's death as heavy rains fell on southern West Virginia on Sunday, officials said.

The death occurred in Wyoming County, according to Mark Rigsby, a spokesman for the West Virginia Office of Emergency Services. No other details were immediately available.

Gov. Bob Wise declared a state of emergency in eight counties: Boone, Fayette, Raleigh, Summers, Mercer, Wyoming, McDowell and Doddridge. With the exception of Doddridge, all of the counties are in the southern part of the state.

Two National Guard helicopters plucked residents from tree tops and the roofs of homes.

Rigsby said rescue and evacuation efforts were ongoing but authorities had no firm fix yet on how many homes were damaged. "I can tell you the damage is widespread," Rigsby said.

David Neal, director for the Fayette County Office of Emergency Services, said torrential rains and flooding destroyed 152 homes. Five inches of rain fell within four hours in the county, he said.

"The water just had nowhere to go," said Neal, adding there have been no reports of fatalities in Fayette County.

In Raleigh County, just south of Fayette, seven homes were destroyed, and that number is expected to rise, said Jack Bowden, the county's director of emergency services.

"There are a lot of mountain roads; we've had a lot of mudslides. It came down in buckets," Bowden said.

Heavy rains were also reported in Wyoming County.

The National Weather Service, which reported 2 to 5 inches of rain in southern West Virginia early Sunday, forecast more rain for Monday.

Multiple emergency shelters were opened in the area to accommodate families forced from their homes. Rigsby said about 500 people were in the shelters Sunday night.