Flood in West Virginia Destroys 150 Homes
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Flooding in West Virginia, we're going to spend some time explaining some more about that now. The governor has declared a state of emergency in West Virginia, as mud slides and floods cause major problems for big parts of that state. One person has been killed, an elderly woman in the town of McGraw, and at least 100 people have been evacuated due to heavy rain throughout the central and southern part of the state. More than 150 homes, too, have been destroyed. And more rain could be on the way, so let's now talk with Mark Rigsby, who is a public information officer for the West Virginia Office of Emergency Management and find out what the picture is like on the ground there. Mr. Rigsby, thanks for joining us.</s>MARK RIGSBY, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Thanks for having me.</s>FRAZIER: Is it raining there now?</s>RIGSBY: It's not raining here right now. Hopefully, most of the rain has already moved away from us, but we are really in a serious situation right now. Governor Bob Wise has declared eight counties in our state as -- in the state of emergency: Boone county, Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell, Mercer and Doddridge. We are currently conducting helicopter rescues. There are people stranded on their rooftops, in trees in some of the southern counties. There are several shelters that are open right now. The Red Cross is opening shelters. We expect the number of 500 people in those shelters to rise as the evening goes on. Stephen: We are looking at pictures as you talk to us, Mr Rigsby, of very fast moving water, which seems to have swept away a lot of cars -- took their owners by surprise.</s>RIGSBY: Well, that's one thing that we tried to warn people not to do, and that is driving through swift water. That is a very dangerous situation. Just last month, when we had a devastating flood here in Boone county there was a gentleman that did drive through the water, and the car flipped over, and he and his daughter were unfortunately killed in that situation. And we try to advise people not to drive through swift water. It's a good idea to just leave those vehicles there. Stephen: Right. Is this water that -- I mean, ground that is already saturated, or is this hilly areas -- why is this happening?</s>RIGSBY: Sure, it's a little bit of both. The terrain in West Virginia is really perfect for flash flooding, and that's what we are experiencing right now. I have been talking to people in this office that have worked here for many years, and they have told me that the severity of this flood is comparable to the flood, the devastating flood that we had in this state in 1996. So, it's a very serious situation.</s>FRAZIER: Well, it does sound dramatic as you describe it. We are grateful for those insights, we hope things go well for you in the next few hours and you get a break too from forecast as well as natural events. Mark Rigsby, from the West Virginia Office of Emergency Management. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com