The flood was tragic with at least 26 deaths, and millions of dollars damage, but this type of flood is very predictable, and more frequent than the one-in-a-thousand year event described by the source above.
I worked in West Virginia for more than 15 years mapping soils, geology and floodplains. The hazard of floods like these is actually very high particularly East of the Allegheny Front where these floods took place. The worst flood in recent history was the 1985 flood. I actually worked on the recovery for that flood.
The worst flood would be the result of a hurricane or tropical storm moves across Eastern West Virginia. The Allegheny front is high enough to block the rain and the heaviest rains dump on hilly country East of the Front. Flood plain planning and relocation of residential homes and commercial business out of the flood plain is the only real answer. t is costly to build structures with the first floor over 40 feet off the ground. These floods were well within the 100 year flood frequency flood plain.
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