Jackson County Flood Waters Sweep Toddler Away

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Heavy rains struck Jackson County, West Virginia recently which caused a child to be swept away by the floodwaters.

The boy, aged 4, was reported as missing at 4.25pm on June 23^rd after being swept away by rapid waters, outside the city of Ravenswood. He was said to be with his grandfather along Utah road at the time of the incident. The grandfather attempted to reach the toddler to save him, but the current was just too strong and moved the child out of reach.

Alerted by the sound of the family’s screams – neighbors attempted to help save the toddler but were unfortunately not able to reach him either.

A number of fire departments and other emergency and law enforcement agencies were dispatched to search for the boy. The search continued until it became too dark to carry on. The boy was later declared dead.

His body was found about a quarter mile from where he stumbled into a creek. The area usually runs about ankle deep but eventually rose to about 6 feet deep after 9 inches of rain struck Jackson County.

A state of emergency for 44 counties in West Virginia was issued.

At a conference on Friday, the states Governor said that at least 14 people have died from the floods and labeled the damage in the state as “widespread and devastating”.

He said “I have authorized the deployment of up to 150 members of the West Virginia National Guard to assist local emergency responders as we continue to evaluate the situation today,”

The damage includes roads that have been destroyed, homes burned down and foundations completely washed off.