Flash flooding again hits West Virginia communities still trying to clean up from deadly deluge

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — A northern West Virginia region still cleaning up from flash flooding less than two weeks ago was hit with torrential rains that sent creeks over their banks again Thursday night.

A flash flood warning was issued for the Wheeling area, about an hour's drive southwest of Pittsburgh. The National Weather Service said up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain fell, and more was possible later.

Residents posted video on social media showing streets turned into rivers. Some said the storms formed quickly and that homes that were hit from the last round of flooding were taking on water again.

Much of the Eastern U.S. suffered through days of dangerous heat this week before the latest storms arrived. The West Virginia Emergency Management Division posted a photo of a measuring tape in floodwaters with the caption, “From ‘dry as a bone to 5 inches’ in 45 minutes this evening in the Elm Grove area."

“If you’re in a low-lying or flood-prone area, be ready to move to higher ground,” the agency said.

On June 14, nine people died when as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within 40 minutes. Dozens of homes, businesses and roads were impacted by flooding, and at least 75 vehicles were pulled from two area creeks. Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency in the county.

The body of Sandra Kay Parsons, 83, of Triadelphia, was found in the Ohio River on Tuesday. Officials in Ohio County released her identity after receiving confirmation from a medical examiner. Two other victims were identified last week: Jesse Pearson, 43, of Triadelphia; and Connie Veronis, 71, of Moundsville.

Seven of the nine victims were from Triadelphia, population 660.

Norma and John Black hug outside their flood-damaged home, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Valley Grove, W.Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A vehicle sits in flood debris, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Valley Grove, W.Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A massive outage knocked out power to 130,000 homes and businesses in San Francisco on Saturday, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said.

The power failure left a large swath of the northern part of the city in the dark, beginning with the Richmond and Presidio neighborhoods and areas around Golden Gate Park in the early afternoon and growing in size.

PG&E did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the cause of the blackouts. The outage represents roughly one-third of the utility company's customers in the city.

Social media posts and local media reported mass closures of restaurants and shops and darkened street lights and Christmas decorations.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said on X there were “significant transit disruptions” happening citywide and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat down traffic signals as four-way stops.

The city's transportation agencies said they were bypassing some Muni bus and BART train stations because of the power outages.

At least some of the blackouts were caused by a fire that broke out inside a PG&E substation at 8th and Mission streets, fire officials posted on X at about 3:15 p.m.

At about 4 p.m., PG&E posted on X that it had stabilized the power grid and was not expecting additional customer outages. The company said it was unable to confirm if power would be restored by later Saturday.

FILE - A Pacific Gas & Electric sign is displayed on the exterior of a PG&E building in San Francisco on April 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)