Wayne County, WV Environment & Hazard Risk

• LandslideRelatively Moderate$89.2K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.5 events a year
• Heat waveRelatively Moderate$2.5M/yr expected annual loss, about 4.5 events a year
• WildfireRelatively Low$214K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 498 years
• Ice stormRelatively Moderate$143K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 3 years
• Winter weatherRelatively Low$54.2K/yr expected annual loss, about 8.5 events a year
• EarthquakeVery Low$186K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 870 years
• HurricaneVery Low$39.7K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 43 years
• LightningRelatively Low$148K/yr expected annual loss, about 48 events a year
• Strong windRelatively Low$338K/yr expected annual loss, about 2.1 events a year
• HailRelatively Low$147K/yr expected annual loss, about 3.2 events a year
• TornadoRelatively Low$478K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 13 years
• DroughtVery Low$7,340/yr expected annual loss, about 2.4 events a year
• Cold waveVery Low$202K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
• AvalancheVery Low$22/yr expected annual loss, about once every 100 years

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: coastal flooding, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

161 of 16,705 (1.0%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

1,627

Insured in high-risk zones

139 (9%)

Flood claims since 1978

469

Claims paid since 1978

$4.3M

• Thunderstorm Wind172
• Hail61
• Flash Flood55 · 1 death
• Flood49 · 3 deaths
• Strong Wind26
• Heavy Snow26
• Winter Weather25
• Drought22
• Cold/Wind Chill18
• Heavy Rain15

• Flood03/03/1997

  Wayne

  2 deaths, $500K damage

• Flash Flood04/04/2015

  Cove Gap, Wayne County

  1 death, $450K damage

  What happened

  Numerous streams overflowed and blocked roads. Examples were Newcomb Creek and Lynn Creek near East Lynn, Lick and Cove Creeks near Kiahsville, plus Mill Creek near Saltpetre. Some homes near Kiahsville were impacted. A few homes along Mill Creek were flooded. Small private bridges were washed out. Road culverts were damaged. A couple of vehicles were found in Mill Creek. ||A 62 year old woman tried to walk out of Rowe Hollow in the Amilda vicinity. She was going to attend a Good Friday evening service at the neighborhood church around 1800E on the 3rd. The unnamed run, that flows out of the hollow and into the East Fork of Twelvepole Creek, was flowing across the dead end gravel road. Its assigned route number is 701/38. The water was about knee deep. Neighbors were shocked to see her try to walk through the water with her umbrella. She fell down. The water in the road washed her down the road. She could not straighten up. She was swept away and drowned. Her body was found in the East Fork of Twelvepole Creek.||A rain gauge along Mill Creek measured 2.25 inches in 3 hours during the early evening with a 24 hour total of 3.6 inches.

• Flood11/19/2003

  Wayne

  1 death, $300K damage

  What happened

  Rains of 2 to 4.2 inches fell from 2200E on the 18th through 1600E on the 19th. A strong inflow of moist air from the southeast, helped enhance these rains. The heaviest rain was over the central and southern mountains, say from the Snowshoe region on through Richwood, Beckley, Mullens, and Elkhorn. Some of the preliminary rain totals were 4.2 inches at Snowshoe, 3.9 inches at Richwood, 3.7 inches at Elkhorn, 3.5 inches at Rosedale, 3.3 inches at Frost and Mullens, 3.1 inches at Webster Springs and Glenville, 2.9 inches at Oak Hill and Beckley. Vegetation was dormant for the upcoming winter, the ground saturated, and the waterways were still flowing above normal levels from the heavy rain the preceding week. As a result, runoff into streams and rivers during this second November event was rapid. At the least, counties experienced flooded roads and landslides from overflowing small streams during the daylight hours on the 19th. Several rivers exceeded flood stage late on the 19th on into the 20th. This second round of November flooding hit the counties of Nicholas, Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, and McDowell harder. The Cherry River flooded Richwood. On the river...

• Flood02/16/2003

  Wayne

  $2.5M damage

  What happened

  Rains from Friday afternoon, the 14th, into Sunday the 16th were on the order of 3.5 to 4.9 inches, with the maximum over Wayne and Lincoln Counties. Small streams flooded onto roads Saturday evening, the 15th, into early Sunday, the 16th. Major flooding occurred along the Twelvepole Creek in Wayne County including Dunlow, Wayne, and Lavalette. Evacuations occurred along Falls Creek near West Hamlin. The larger rivers, including the Guyandotte, the Mud, the Coal, the Tug Fork, and the lower Elk flooded. Major flooding occurred along the lower portion of the Guyandotte Basin, including the Mud River in Lincoln and Cabell Counties. Communities such as Branchland, West Hamlin, Hamlin and Milton were flooded. The crest at Branchland was 36.7 feet on the Guyandotte River around 0400E on the 17th. Flood stage is 30 feet. Water levels have not been higher at Branchland since a 38 foot crest back in June of 1979. The Tug Fork crested at Kermit around 0400E on the 17th at 46.3 feet. Flood stage is 38 feet. The last time the Tug Fork was higher at Kermit was May of 1984, when 49 feet was reached. The Coal and lower Elk River saw only minor flooding. Preliminary damage...

• Flash Flood03/01/1997

  Countywide, Wayne County

  $2M damage

• TornadoEF3, 16.61 mi path, 1,000 yd wide03/03/2012

  Glenhayes, Wayne County

  $1.9M damage

  What happened

  The tornado crossed the Tug Fork River from Lawrence County, Kentucky and enter Wayne County. Numerous trees were blown down near Glenhayes. The tornado passed between Dunlow and Radnor, then into the Kiahsville and Cove Gap vicinity along Route 37. In the Dunlow vicinity, the damage was from hilltop to hilltop, just over a half mile wide. In that vicinity, about 5 homes were destroyed with 1 sustaining major damage. At least 3 vehicles were damaged in Dunlow. The East Lynn Lake campground vicinity saw toppled trees and damage to electric and phone lines. Approximately 15 homes were destroyed with 7 sustaining major damage around Kiahsville and Cove Gap. The homes included mobile homes and manufactured structures. A 2 story house lost its roof, plus several of the outside walls and an interior wall. The hillsides and narrow roads were littered with uprooted trees, tangled power lines, sheets of metal roofing, and damaged vehicles. A resident near Cove Gap said, we never thought anything like this would get in here. It got in and it didn't want to leave. I guess it wasn't here that long, but it seemed like forever. ||Ironically, it may have been a local funeral that...

• Kenova Municipal WaterServes 11,192 · Surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+5 monitoring or reporting
• Lavalette PsdServes 7,455 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations
• Wayne Water Town ofServes 5,519 · Surface water · Local government15 health violations+7 monitoring or reporting
• Crum PsdServes 3,463 · Purchased surface water · Local government1 health violation+9 monitoring or reporting
• Fort Gay Water WorksServes 1,600 · Surface water · Local government7 health violations+15 monitoring or reporting
• Ceredo Water WorksServes 1,472 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
• Lavalette Psd - Eastern DistrictServes 1,220 · Purchased surface water · PrivateNo health violations
• Lavalette Psd-Route 52 North DistrictServes 1,179 · Purchased surface water · Local governmentNo health violations