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W.Va. Floods Offer Lessons for Katrina Victims

By Melissa Block
Published December 2, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST

Four years after the flood, local officials are working on a strategic plan for Mullens that includes revitalizing the downtown.
Melissa Block, NPR /
Four years after the flood, local officials are working on a strategic plan for Mullens that includes revitalizing the downtown.

A visit to communities in West Virginia that were devastated by flash floods in 2001 offers a glimpse into what Gulf Coast residents can expect as they struggle to recover from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

In New Orleans, and along the Gulf Coast, many questions remain unanswered after Hurricane Katrina: Will business come back? How many people will leave for good? What will remain of those communities? Four years ago, those same questions were being asked in southern West Virginia, which suffered a smaller but still catastrophic disaster.

Melissa Block reports from Wyoming County on the lingering effects of the floods, long after the water receded.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: March 14, 2006 at 5:02 PM EST
We reported that 11 inches of rain fell in four hours on the day of the flooding. But a rain gauge was malfunctioning, and the actual rainfall was about half that amount.
Melissa Block
As special correspondent and guest host of NPR's news programs, Melissa Block brings her signature combination of warmth and incisive reporting. Her work over the decades has earned her journalism's highest honors, and has made her one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices.
See stories by Melissa Block

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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