West Virginia · Preparedness Guide

West Virginia is almost entirely mountainous — and that geography shapes every hazard the state faces. Narrow river valleys and steep hollow communities flood with terrifying speed; the 2016 Greenbrier Valley floods killed 23 people and the 2001 Mingo County floods remain one of the state's worst disasters. Ice storms hit harder here than almost anywhere in the East — remote communities in McDowell, Wyoming, and Logan counties can be cut off for weeks. The Kanawha Valley industrial corridor carries one of the highest chemical spill risk profiles in the country — the 2014 MCHM spill contaminated the drinking water of 300,000 people for days. Preparation in WV is not optional; it is the difference between isolation and survival.