City of Charleston Declares State of Emergency

The city of Charleston experienced up to 6.0 inches of rain during the storm that washed out streets, caused flash flooding and ended in dozens of water rescues.

Juliette Fairley

Published: 8/18/2026, 5:02:07 PM EDT

City of Charleston Declares State of Emergency — In this photo provided by Alexis Wood, a flooded Walmart parking lot in Weston, W.Va., on July 21, 2026. (Alexis Wood via AP)

The mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, declared a state of city emergency this week following Gov. Patrick Morrisey's declaration of a statewide emergency last month.

Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin cited municipal codes §§ 2-461(d) and 2-471(d) in her Aug. 17 emergency proclamation, while Morrisey issued the state’s emergency proclamation on July 21.

“Assessment, cleanup and repair of the damage caused by these floods will be ongoing for months with cost estimates in the millions of dollars,” Goodwin stated in the decree.

Both emergency declarations were issued as a result of weather conditions and flash flooding events that slammed infrastructure and threatened public safety.

“City crews have been working since yesterday to assess damage, clear debris, address impacted roadways, and respond to needs throughout our community,” Charleston city officials said in an Aug. 17 storm response post on Facebook. “City teams will continue assessing impacted areas and responding to storm-related needs.”

Located in Kanawha County, Charleston experienced up to 6.0 inches of rain during Monday's storm that washed out streets, caused flash flooding and ended in dozens of water rescues.

The emergency declaration allows Goodwin to navigate standard procurement procedures and delegate authority to the city manager and the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Morrisey deployed members of the National Guard to help affected communities after issuing the state emergency declaration to cope with July's storms, rainfall, and flood waters.

Up to 7 inches of rain fell across the state over a six-hour time frame, which forced the closure of parts of Interstate 79, U.S. Route 48, and secondary roads.

Lewis, Pleasants, and Upshur counties were the most severely impacted, according to Morrisey.

The National Weather Service (NWS) flagged the state with a top-tier Flash Flood Emergency designation (known as Particularly Dangerous Situation) and issued a "SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW" warning.

The PDS label is used in rare situations when long-lived, strong, and violent tornadoes are possible, according to an NWS glossary, and also when an imminent threat to human life and catastrophic structural damage are actively occurring or could occur during flooding.

Water levels in a stream called Sand Run that flows into the Buckhannon River in Upshur County rose to record levels, trumping a November 1985 flood that led to 47 deaths statewide, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

Overwhelming rain and severe flash floods have also led to numerous emergency water rescues of multiple people trapped in submerged cars and vehicles across multiple parts of West Virginia.