Floodwaters in West Virginia forced high school students to spend a night at the school after all schools in Lincoln County were dismissed two hours early on Thursday due to high water making many roads impassable. While parents were allowed to pick up their children, some students of Lincoln County High School in the town of Hamlin were forced to stay put.
According to a notice posted on its Facebook page and website, school officials said that the students were resting and tucked in for the night. Cots, blankets, pillows, and other supplies were donated by members of the community, stores, and churches, while staff members stayed on site to supervise the students. The photos posted on the school’s Facebook page showed students playing board games in the cafeteria and tossing a football in the gymnasium, while pizza, juice boxes, and other donated foods were spread out across tables.
The school officials said that they would feed the students breakfast Friday and then bring them home. Officials called off classes Friday in Lincoln County and at least nine others after the storms dumped nearly 3 inches of rain in some places. In Kanawha County, the state’s largest, school bus routes were changed or closed because of flooded roads. Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency as the storms rolled through Thursday.
The flooding came amid a string of thunderstorms that swept across the South. Flood warnings remained in place for several counties in southern and central West Virginia. Thunderstorms were possible Friday from the Florida Panhandle to the North Carolina coast, said National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec.
In Mingo County, along West Virginia’s border with Kentucky and Virginia, a mudslide knocked over a few train cars loaded with coal near a mine, according to the county emergency services office. The mudslide also uprooted a few houses, according to WCHS-TV, which reported that residents were being helped out of their homes. No injuries were reported and State Police were being sent to investigate.
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Kansas, doctors at the University of Kansas issued a plea for the public to be careful after spending Thursday treating people who suffered broken wrists and even concussions from falling after a freezing drizzle lasting eight to 10 hours coated pavement across the area with a thin glaze of ice. The hospital said that some parents had children in their arms when they tumbled, causing injuries to the youngsters.
The situation in West Virginia is still evolving, and authorities are urging people to stay safe and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves from flooding and other weather-related dangers.
(Inputs from AP)
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